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Oklahoma Health Commissioner Blasts White House For Rising Health Premiums

Matthias Zomer

Oklahoma lawmakers are blaming President Donald Trump’s White House for rising healthcare premiums in the Sooner State.

As The Hill reports,officials are charging the administration with missing a deadline to approve a key waiver for the state under the Affordable Care Act.

In a letter addressed to Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price—who resigned on Friday—Oklahoma Health Commissioner Terry Cline admonished the administration for missing the deadline.

Cline said that if the White House had done their due diligence on what’s known as the State Innovation Waiver, the action would have lowered premiums throughout Oklahoma, including in hurting rural areas.

In a tone of frustration, the letter noted that approving the waiver would have helped more than 130,000 Oklahoma residents and reduced premiums by 30 percent.

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