OKLAHOMA CITY – [March 13, 2019]– Oklahomans for Step Therapy Reform said SB509, authored by Sen. Dave Rader, R-Tulsa, passed the Senate with a vote of 43-0, and its companion HB2638, authored by Reps. Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City, and Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma City, passed the House with a vote of 94-0.

The bills will allow patients quicker access to more effective medical treatment as prescribed by their provider.

“The passage of SB509 is good and necessary because it puts safeguards in place around the practice of ‘fail first’ and ensures patients have timely access to critical medications without unnecessary interference from insurance companies,” said Rader. “A chronic illness is challenging enough, without having to jump through unnecessary hoops. This bill will eliminate complicated and unnecessary steps that are too often placed in a patient’s path. We look forward to the next legislative steps and ultimately standing by Governor Stitt when he signs this into law,” said Jenniafer Walters, executive director of the Epilepsy Foundation of Oklahoma.