Latest Oklahoma Headlines
All the headlines from our Oklahoma Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Downs Named Chief of Staff at Oklahoma Insurance Department
Jan 30 2020 // Brian Downs has been tapped to serve as chief of staff for the Oklahoma Insurance Department (OID). Downs currently serves as the State Health Information Exchange director and special assistant to the Governor’s...
Oklahoma Bill Would Eliminate Third-Party Pharmacy Benefit Managers
Jan 29 2020 // If passed, proposed legislation would have Oklahoma joining the growing number of states backing away from using Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) to administer prescription-drug programs. Sen. Paul Scott, R-Duncan, has...
Oklahoma State Representative’s Bill Would Regulate Peer-to-Peer Car Rentals
Jan 27 2020 // A state representative in Oklahoma has filed a bill that would set regulatory standards for the nascent peer-to-peer rental car industry. Rep. Lonnie Sims (R-Jenks) says House Bill 3655 supports both the growth and the...
Oklahoma AG Settles with Opiate Maker Endo
Jan 27 2020 // for $8.75M; Sues 3 More Distributors By Ken Miller Oklahoma will receive $8.75 million from two pharmaceutical companies in a deal announced on Jan. 10 that will end legal action the state was considering against the...
Oklahoma Oil Rig Explosion Wrongful Death Trial Underway
Jan 27 2020 // The wrongful death trial against an oilfield equipment contractor in connection with an explosion and fire last year that killed five men in southeastern Oklahoma began in mid-January. Attorneys for the families of Parker...
Oklahoma’s Opioid Crisis
Jan 27 2020 // With nearly 5% of Oklahoma’s population ages 12 and older abusing or misusing painkillers, the state leads the nation in non-medical use of painkillers, according to the Attorney General’s Office. The...
Oklahoma Oil Rig Explosion Wrongful Death Trial Begins in Oklahoma
Jan 17 2020 // The wrongful death trial against a oilfield equipment contractor in connection with a January 2018 explosion and fire that killed five men in southeastern Oklahoma is underway. The McAlester News-Capital reports that...
Global Cannabis Revenue Pushed by Sales Doubling in Some U.S. States
Jan 16 2020 // The green rush in the global cannabis market continued in 2019, with sales doubling in seven U.S. states as well as Canada, and you can expect that trend to continue this year, a report out on Thursday shows. The report...
Oklahoma Legislature to Again Take Up Issue of Surprise Medical Billing
Jan 15 2020 // How to prevent surprise medical billing from out-of-network health care providers will be on the docket for Oklahoma lawmakers during this year’s legislative session. The issue was taken up during the 2019 session...
Oklahoma AG Sues 3 Opioid Distributors
Jan 14 2020 // Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter on Jan. 13 brought a lawsuit against three distributors of opioids after winning a lawsuit against one drug manufacturer and reaching pretrial settlements in other cases. Hunter filed...
Oklahoma Bill Would Create Entity Focused on Natural Disaster, Hazard Mitigation
Jan 13 2020 // Legislation filed in Oklahoma would establish an organizational framework for addressing mitigation of natural disasters in that state. House Bill 2776, The Oklahoma Hazard Mitigation Assessment District Act, provides the...
11 Dead After Storms Sweep Southern U.S., Midwest
Jan 13 2020 // Severe storms sweeping across southern portions of the U.S. and up into the Midwest were blamed Saturday in the deaths of at least 11 people, including two first responders, as high winds, tornadoes and unrelenting rain...
Endo Pharmaceuticals Settles with Oklahoma for Alleged Role in Opioid Crisis
Jan 10 2020 // Endo Pharmaceuticals has reached an out-of-court settlement totaling $8.75 million for the company’s alleged role in Oklahoma’s opioid crisis, state Attorney General Mike Hunter reported in a media release...
Ex-U. of Oklahoma Official Facing Multiple Allegations of Sexual Misconduct
Jan 10 2020 // A third University of Oklahoma student has come forward with sexual misconduct allegations against a former university administrator. The 21-year-old student claims in a lawsuit filed on Jan. 6 that former OU Vice...
No Injuries Reported After Fire on Roof of Oklahoma City Mall
Jan 7 2020 // A fire on the roof of a northwest Oklahoma City mall was extinguished with no injuries on Jan. 4, fire officials said. Oklahoma City Fire Battalion Chief Benny Fulkerson said the fire on the roof of Quail Springs Mall...
Oklahoma Couple Charged with $313K Home Repair Fraud
Jan 7 2020 // An Oklahoma couple has been accused of home repair fraud and embezzlement, where they took more than $313,000 from 10 victims, the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office reported. In a 10-count felony indictment, Bobby...
Group Continuing Effort to Legalize Recreational Marijuana in Oklahoma
Jan 2 2020 // A group seeking to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in Oklahoma refiled their petition in late December after facing a fierce backlash over what the plan might do to the state’s burgeoning medical marijuana...
Insurance Journal’s Top 10 South Central Region Stories of 2019
Jan 2 2020 // It almost seemed like there was a major fire or explosion per month at one petrochemical facility or another in the South Central region last year. That’s not really the case, but there were a number of high-profile...
Bipartisan Internet Privacy Proposal Calls for User OK to Share Data But Is Mum on Suits
Dec 23 2019 // A top House panel unveiled long-awaited draft privacy legislation that calls for limits on sharing consumers’ information and would allow users to correct their personal data. The draft, which also calls for the...
Oklahoma Appeals Judge’s $465M Order in Opioid Lawsuit
Dec 18 2019 // A judge didn’t order Johnson & Johnson to pay enough when he said the company must pay $465 million to address Oklahoma’s opioid crisis, the state said in an appeal filed on Dec. 16. Attorney General Mike...
