OKLA. STATE MEDICAL ASSOCIATION / From the desk of Summit Nanda
Oklahoma has seen its share of health challenges in recent years — declining childhood immunization rates, increasing obesity, growing issues with diabetes and a national health care ranking that, unfortunately, lingers near the bottom. It’s troubling that despite these issues, the Oklahoma Division of Government Efficiency (DOGE-OK) has chosen to target Oklahoma’s health care sector in identifying socalled “wasteful” federal grants it recommends be returned to Washington.
In a March DOGE-OK report, the newly formed agency recommended releasing hundreds of millions of federal dollars previously allocated for funding programs within the Oklahoma Department of Health, the Oklahoma Health Care Authority and the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services —vital funding that helps ensure the health of Oklahomans.
Supporters say these changes are intended to benefit taxpayers, but at what cost? DOGE-OK’s recommendation to send back $15 million in childhood immunization funding couldn’t come at a worse time, as our state faces a measles resurgence coupled with some of the lowest vaccination rates in years. Oklahoma has a high prevalence of diabetes, with more than 12% of our adult population suffering from the disease, yet DOGEOK wants to return more than half of a $1 million grant earmarked to develop a strategic approach for priority populations with or at risk for diabetes.
As a physician, I’ve dedicated my career to improving the health of Oklahomans, and I’ve seen the positive impact of these types of programs. Leaving money on the table would hamper our state’s ability to fight infectious diseases, carry out wastewater testing and disease surveillance, boost immunization uptake and fight diabetes. Simply put, returning funding that could help address high-risk health issues is counterproductive to the goal of improving the quality of health of our state’s citizens.
Now is the time to lean into creative solutions designed to address the root of prevalent health issues, not withdraw our support for innovative public health initiatives. And it’s definitely not the time to forfeit money already earmarked for critical, life-saving programs.
While all of us can agree we need to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars, the fact of the matter is that these are dollars already in our pocket, and DOGE-OK is proposing we give them away. Our money should stay in Oklahoma to improve the health of our state, not be sent back to Washington to be spent elsewhere.
( EDITOR’S NOTE: Sumit Nanda, M.D., is a board-certified ophthalmologist with INTEGRIS Health in Oklahoma City. He is president of the Oklahoma State Medical Association.)
