Hiral Rao

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves’ disparaging tone when referring to Medicaid as “welfare” was a political theme we could’ve done without in this year’s gubernatorial race. The Republican governor began using that negative characterization of the Medicaid health insurance program when polling showed that Democratic challenger Brandon Presley was within only a few percentage points of […]

Medicaid expansion has been at the forefront of the race for governor this year. If enacted, what could we expect to see in terms of enrollment and costs? How would it impact access to care, health care outcomes and rural hospitals? Let’s dive in. Medicaid is a government-run welfare program that provides taxpayer-funded financial aid […]

Despite Medicaid’s positive impact, the Mississippi Division of Medicaid’s monthly enrollment reports show that nearly 20,000 children – and 50,000 Mississippians in total – have been dropped from Medicaid this year, following changes in COVID-19-era regulations. To ensure Medicaid’s effectiveness, it is vital that our government leaders accurately implement these policy changes that disenroll newly ineligible individuals. […]

More than 10 million people were disenrolled from Medicaid over the past six months, according to the latest data published by a KFF tracker. The tracker has collected data on Medicaid enrollment since the first states began redetermining eligibility in April, after the expiration of the federal requirement of continuous coverage during the Covid-19 public health emergency. As […]

Gov. Tate Reeves, the state’s most powerful opponent of Medicaid expansion, repeated a familiar claim at Wednesday night’s gubernatorial debate: that the program wouldn’t save the state’s failing hospitals. But health care experts say that was always clear, that the governor’s argument is missing an understanding of the challenges facing the state’s health care system […]

Most children are accident-prone. They are susceptible to various germs and viruses at school where they slap high-fives and shake hands after sneezing and sit in desks with gum stuck to the edges. They are our little bundles of vulnerable joy. We know we can’t be there to caution their every step, but at the […]

The lecture series provided an opportunity for the faith community to get involved in the conversation around health care access. It’s also significant because Galloway is the home church of Gov. Tate Reeves, the state’s most high-profile opponent of expanding Medicaid. Dr. Dan Jones, former chancellor of the University of Mississippi, and one of the weekend’s lecturers, said […]

Gov. Tate Reeves has long struggled to justify his opposition to Medicaid expansion. Numerous economic experts say the expansion program would bring $1.5 billion in new revenue to Mississippi in year one, create more than 10,000 new jobs per year, and provide health insurance to at least 200,000 working Mississippians who can’t otherwise afford it. […]

More than a year after Mississippi Medicaid announced it was contracting with three companies to manage the care of their beneficiaries, those contracts have not been awarded. That’s because two companies that weren’t chosen say the selection process was unfair. UnitedHealthcare and Amerigroup, two for-profit managed care companies, were not chosen by Mississippi Medicaid as one of […]

Presley said an additional 230,000 people could receive Medicaid coverage if the program were expanded. Reeves used a higher estimate. And, as he does frequently, Reeves on Thursday referred to Medicaid as “welfare.” “Adding 300,000 able-bodied adults to the welfare rolls is not the right thing to do,” Reeves told reporters after his speech. The […]

Kimberly Hughes, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network’s government relations director, stressed how critical insurance coverage is in the fight against cancer. Mississippi has one of the highest cancer mortality rates in the nation. “Cancer is curable if it’s caught early, and it’s only caught early if it’s screened for, and screening requires appropriate health insurance,” […]

For years, a cycle has repeated itself at the state Capitol: Democratic lawmakers file legislation to expand Medicaid coverage to additional Mississippians, Republican leaders kill those efforts and Democratic legislators cry foul. Across the state, voters keep reelecting the same Republicans to office who oppose Medicaid expansion. But the trio of legislators on Wednesday said […]

An event aimed at improving health care and expanding Medicaid in Mississippi is making its way to Jackson Thursday.   Together for Hope, a nonprofit working with the poorest counties in America, teamed up with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network in Alabama and Mississippi this year to host “Better Health Summits” throughout the two […]

“Roy Mitchell, executive director of the MS Health Advocacy Program, emphasized the urgency of the situation, saying, “it’s time for our lawmakers and policy leaders to listen to us and act accordingly. The health of the people in our state cannot wait. We can no longer stand by and watch while families and communities experience […]

Roy Mitchell, executive director at the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program, which also supports expansion, noted that in a survey his organization conducted earlier this year, nearly three-fourths of respondents said they had difficulty affording care and nearly two-thirds said they delayed care or skipped it because of cost. “Hundreds of thousands of Mississippians are struggling […]

Mississippi’s Medicaid rolls are shrinking. And for thousands, that coverage has been dropped in the last few months. Imagine showing up at the doctor’s office only to find out you don’t have health care coverage anymore. That’s happened to some of you in recent months. More than 81,000 Mississippians have been dropped from Medicaid as […]

Every region in Mississippi ranked higher in infant mortality than the national average of 5.4 deaths per 1,000 live births, according to the state’s 2021 Mississippi Infant Mortality Report released last week. This report comes one month after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released data showing that Mississippi’s infant mortality rate reached a five-year high while the national rate […]

Nearly 13,000 Mississippians were kicked from Medicaid’s rolls in September during the most recent batch of disenrollments, while the agency’s backlog grows. The latest numbers bring the state’s total disenrollments to 81,454 people, most of whom were dropped for paperwork issues, not because they were found to be ineligible. Medicaid divisions all over the country are reviewing […]

The shroud of mystery has been removed on why Gov. Tate Reeves opposes expanding Medicaid. It is not a matter of cost. The governor simply does not support expanding Medicaid to provide health care coverage for Mississippi’s working poor. Reeves’ recent announcement of his plan to provide additional federal funds for struggling hospitals makes clear […]

“Until Medicaid is expanded, Mississippians will continue to pay the price in lost dollars, lost jobs, and lost lives,” Roy Mitchell, executive director of the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program, said of Reeves’ recent announcement. “This is a state executive branch, making a health policy decision based largely in myth and an ideological belief structure. The […]

“Healthcare is largely considered by most in the industry as a complete failure by the Reeves administration – most notably, rural healthcare,” Mr. Woodward said. “The announcement of Gov. Reeves’ Medicaid reimbursement reform on Sept. 21 did very little to change that. In fact, it was a slap in the face to most all of […]

Republican Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves is still refusing to opt in to the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion, which would provide health insurance to an estimated 230,000 uninsured adults in the state. Instead, on Sept. 21, Reeves announced plans to boost Medicaid reimbursements to hospitals by hundreds of millions of dollars, directly benefiting his own donors. The first-term governor […]