Republican Gov. Tate Reeves summoned a group of state senators to the Governor’s Mansion in early March and privately told them he will veto any Medicaid expansion bill lawmakers pass, two senators told Mississippi Today. Reeves invited the group of about 15 senators to the Governor’s Mansion to socialize with him — a common occurrence […]
Where’s the plan? Senate still has only ‘dummy bill’ for Medicaid expansion
Facing a Thursday deadline for passage, the state Senate leadership has refused to detail its Medicaid expansion plan, leaving members in the dark and health experts worried the plan could ultimately include elements that are unfeasible, costly and counterproductive. Two-and-a-half months into the legislative session, and after 10 years of debate, Senate Medicaid Chairman Kevin Blackwell […]
Mississippi manufacturers voice support for Medicaid expansion plan
The Mississippi Manufacturers Association voiced support for the House Medicaid expansion plan, which would make Mississippi the 41st state to expand Medicaid to cover the working poor, in a social media post. The group cited new economic development projects this year as a reason to expand Medicaid coverage in the state with the lowest workforce participation rate. “In late Feb., Jason […]
Still time to do the right thing. Gov. Reeves, expand Medicaid. It is the right thing to do
Jonathan Tate Reeves, you are by all accounts a gentleman and a scholar. You are a graduate of Millsaps College, which prepares you to be both. You’re from high-quality people. I know you consider yourself a Christian. I attended Jackson’s Galloway United Methodist Church with you in the early-to-mid 2000s. You contributed in myriad ways […]
New poll breaks down support for Medicaid expansion in Mississippi
New polling of likely Republican primary voters in Mississippi suggests that many of them support Medicaid expansion. According to an American Cancer Society and Cygnal poll, more than half of Mississippi Republican voters polled support Medicaid expansion for those earning up to 138% of the federal poverty limit. The polling showed 55% of voters support Medicaid […]
Medicaid Expansion bill now resides in Senate; No word on when it’ll come up for a vote
”This has been a tremendous leap for Mississippi,” said Sylvia-Nicole Cecchi, who’s the Project Coordinator for Care4Mississippi. “We’re just excited to see that our legislators are finally bridging the gap between public opinion and public policy.” The group has been advocating for legislation to be passed on this issue. ”Closing the coverage gap is extremely important for […]
‘Moral imperative’: House overwhelmingly passes Mississippi Medicaid expansion
Medicaid expansion, which for more than a decade has been blocked by legislative leaders, passed the House Wednesday 98-20 in less than 15 minutes and now advances to the Senate. House Medicaid Chair Missy McGee, R-Hattiesburg, explained the policy as a “moral imperative” and said it “should transcend politics.” She also said that lawmakers have […]
‘Mississippians need access to affordable healthcare’: advocates urging lawmakers to expand Medicaid
The calls for Medicaid expansion are growing louder. Thursday, the group “Care 4 Mississippi” gathered at the courthouse, pleading for your lawmakers to pass legislation on this issue. One of the people speaking at the podium was Lakeisha Preston, who lives in Lawrence County. “I am a single mother of a beautiful seven-year-old boy,” she […]
Southern Lawmakers Rethink Long-Standing Opposition to Medicaid Expansion
Mississippi’s new House speaker, Jason White, a Republican, has said he wants to protect hospitals and keep residents from seeking regular care through the emergency room. More than 120,000 uninsured people in Mississippi would become newly eligible for Medicaid under expansion, according to KFF data. White told KFF Health News in a written statement that […]
Medicaid Expansion Bill Coming By Monday, Mississippi Lt. Gov. Hosemann Says
A Medicaid expansion bill will arrive in the Mississippi Senate by Monday, beginning a process that could provide health care to about 230,000 working Mississippians, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann says. The Republican senate leader shared plans to introduce a bill before Monday’s legislative deadline for introducing new legislation in an interview with Mississippi Today reporter Sophia […]
Mississippi lawmakers file seven Medicaid expansion bills
The first legislative deadline of the 2024 session has come and gone. Thousands of bills have been filed, giving us a glimpse as to what the rest of the session may be focused on. So far, there has been a huge emphasis on healthcare, specifically from House Democrats. They’re taking another swipe at expanding Medicaid […]
Hosemann announces Senate Medicaid expansion bill
Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said Thursday the Senate will have a bill by Monday’s deadline to expand Mississippi Medicaid to cover the working poor. Hosemann said the bill will likely contain a work requirement and cover roughly 230,000 adults who make too much to currently be eligible for Medicaid, but too little to afford private […]
Despite Tate Reeves’ win, Medicaid expansion sure is on the table
A time-honored political adage is that “elections have consequences.” Tate Reeves was reelected governor in 2023 as a long-time opponent of Medicaid expansion. Hence, the consequence is that there is no likelihood that Medicaid will be expanded to provide health care coverage for primarily the working poor — an estimated 200,000 Mississippians. Even with two-thirds […]
House health care committee leadership changes signal Medicaid expansion debate
Speaker Jason White on Friday appointed new people to lead the two House committees with jurisdiction over health policy, signaling a desire to shift the focus of health care debate in a state plagued by dire health outcomes. “The selections for chairs and vice chairs directly reflect our desire and drive to elevate Mississippi,” White […]
Mississippi House leadership team reflects new speaker’s openness to Medicaid expansion
The new speaker of the Mississippi House on Friday announced his leadership team for this four-year term, making a significant change by choosing a new chairman who supports his wish to consider Medicaid expansion. Speaker Jason White appointed fellow Republican Sam Creekmore of New Albany to lead the House Public Health and Human Services Committee. […]
Ledbetter talks expanded health coverage through private-public partnership
As to how to improve the state’s quality of health care, Ledbetter floated the idea of expanding Medicaid with a privatized approach, saying that discussions on the idea among Legislative leaders were ongoing. Ledbetter said they’d tasked an economist to research the idea, and that he had received a report recently that showed some promising […]
IN SESSION: Could legislative response to Mississippi’s healthcare crisis shift this year?
Some feel the new state administration could also mean a change in the direction of the Mississippi healthcare crisis response. Robert Johnson III, D-Natchez, who represents Mississippi’s 94th District inclusive of Adams, Franklin, and Jefferson counties, said it could mean further consideration of Medicaid expansion as one of the solutions to save hospitals on the brink […]
Mississippi’s New Medicaid Redetermination Is Evil
Medicaid is a public health-insurance program for Americans with limited income and resources, including eligible low-income adults, children, the elderly, pregnant women and people living with disabilities. The U.S. government and states jointly fund the program. Redeterminations of eligibility are conducted annually, but they were suspended in March 2020 for three years due to the […]
CMS says states could lose funding over Medicaid redeterminations issues
Federal regulators are cracking down on the growing number of procedural disenrollments during ongoing Medicaid redeterminations, warning that states could lose federal funding and face fines if they fail to follow federal requirements, according to a CMS interim final rule published Monday. The rule, which takes effect on Wednesday, allows regulators to force states to submit a corrective action […]
The South is ‘the epicenter’ of a new HIV crisis. Medicaid expansion could help.
If Mississippi alongside the other six southern states affected by the surge in HIV cases expanded Medicaid, the program would provide more federal funds for the poorest people, including making pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, more widely available, a daily pill that’s been touted as a game changer because it’s so effective at preventing HIV. The decision […]
Mississippi House GOP Selects Jason White For Speaker; Nominee Open to Medicaid Expansion
Mississippi House Republicans have nominated Rep. Jason White, R-West, to serve as the new House speaker in the 2024 legislative session. He has expressed an openness to considering Medicaid expansion—a policy outgoing Republican House Speaker Philip Gunn has long opposed. In a statement after the Mississippi House Republican Caucus nominated him during a meeting at the […]
Hundreds of thousands in North Carolina will be added to Medicaid rolls this week
To qualify for Medicaid under the new guidelines, a single person can make up to $20,120 annually in pretax income, while a household of four can make up to $41,400 for an adult to benefit. McBane, who lives alone and has gone nearly 18 years without health insurance, is now searching for a job that […]
Medicaid ‘Unwinding’ Makes Other Public Assistance Harder to Get
Low-income families that need safety-net services, such as food and cash assistance, have become collateral damage in the bureaucratic scramble to determine whether tens of millions of people still qualify for Medicaid after a pandemic-era freeze on disenrollment ended this spring. These are people whose applications and renewal forms have been delayed or lost, or who, like […]
The Biden administration is slow to act as millions are booted off Medicaid, advocates say
Up to 30 million of the poorest Americans could be purged from the Medicaid program, many the result of error-ridden state reviews that poverty experts say the Biden administration is not doing enough to stop. The projections from the health consulting firm Avalere come as states undertake a sweeping reevaluation of the 94 million people enrolled […]