Medicaid, Workforce and Research Lead Chamber’s 2026 Health Care Agenda

The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber released its 2026 policy priorities for health care and life sciences, emphasizing opposition to federal Medicaid cuts, support for medical innovation, and investments to strengthen Oklahoma’s health care workforce and research ecosystem.

The Chamber opposes Medicaid coverage reductions enacted under H.R. 1, citing concerns that cuts would reduce access to care, particularly in rural and underserved areas, increase uncompensated care and shift costs to employers and employees through higher insurance premiums.

The Chamber also opposes federal actions that undermine health care reforms enacted by the Oklahoma Legislature and supports sustainable policy solutions that protect recent health care gains while promoting long-term stability for employers, workers and consumers.

As Oklahoma continues to modernize its Medicaid system, the Chamber supports the state’s Medicaid Managed Care Model and protecting Medicaid supplemental payments or equivalent programs that support medical education and teaching hospitals.

To address physician and nursing shortages, the Chamber supports expanded residency programs, recruitment and retention incentives, increased nursing school capacity and new public funding streams dedicated to workforce development. The Chamber also supports expanded use of telemedicine and telehealth to improve access to care statewide.

The Chamber supports policies that foster research and development and opposes efforts to restrict bioscience and life sciences programs. At the federal level, the Chamber supports increased funding for the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and National Institute for Standards and Technology, as well as reauthorization of the Small Business Innovation Research Program and protection of the NIH Institutional Development Award program.

Additional priorities include support for clinical trials, intellectual property protections, regulatory certainty, public health preparedness and workforce safety. The Chamber supports protecting the independence of the Oklahoma City-County Health Department and continued investment in rural and tribal health care, including the federal Joint Venture Construction Program.

The Chamber also supports wellness and disease prevention initiatives, tobacco prevention programs, public health preparedness, and exploration of a state program to accelerate the development and commercialization of new drugs, diagnostics and therapies to further position Oklahoma as a leader in health care and life sciences.

Click here to view the Chamber’s full legislative agenda.