Perhaps no other federal-state policy has been studied and debated more than Medicaid expansion per the federal Affordable Care Act, including its potential impact on Mississippi — one of just 12 states that has not expanded the program.
A Kaiser Family Foundation report notes there have been more than 400 studies on the topic nationwide. And in Mississippi, the poorest and unhealthiest state in the nation, numerous studies have focused on what expansion would mean. A majority project net positive benefits economically, health-wise or both.
Expansion would mean someone making $18,754 a year (138% of the poverty level) would be eligible for health care coverage through the federal-state program. The federal government would pay 90% of the costs for those covered, with the state paying 10%.
When Medicaid expansion began Jan. 1, 2014, the federal government paid 100% of the costs, stepped down to 90% over years. Mississippi missed out on the larger matching rates from the federal government.
But under the recent American Rescue Plan, the 12 states that have not expanded Medicaid have been offered a financial incentive to do so. That equates to more than $700 million for Mississippi, and more recent studies have factored in those incentives.