January 5, 22

NEWS / Oklahoma mom loses health insurance over months-long birth certificate wait

An Oklahoma woman is struggling to pay medical bills related to the birth of her daughter as the State has failed to produce a birth certificate for her daughter after months of waiting, KFOR news reports. Ashley Mehr submitted a birth certificate application and paid for express shipping back in July 2021 and still has not heard back from the Oklahoma Vital Records. As a result, SoonerCare, the state's low-income health insurance, is unable to cover $300 worth of medical expenses as there is no record of her daughter Harmoni in the system. Complicating matters is the fact that Harmoni's father and Mehr's ex-husbands lives in New York and needs to sign documentation to release Harmoni's birth certificate. Mehr said that nobody from the State government reached out to her to explain the delay in issuing her daughter's birth certificate. She fears she would have to wait for many more months before she would get Harmoni's birth certificate. "No mother should have to stress or worry about something we fill out at the time of birth," said Mehr. Many state and local governments continue to experience significant delays in issuing vital records and corporate documents due to staffing issues and concerns over the spread of COVID-19.

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