Key issues • Oklahoma

Okla. GOP ties hospital’s covid funds to end of gender-affirming care

When Oklahoma lawmakers met last week to distribute more than $108 million in federal pandemic relief funds for one of the state’s largest hospital systems, many expected a routine vote in favor of upgrading its medical records and a cancer-treatment center.

Instead, Republican lawmakers added an explosive provision: OU Health would only get these funds, including $39.4 million for a new pediatric mental health facility, if its Oklahoma Children’s Hospital stopped providing gender-affirming care.

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