Please note that this post contains affiliate links and any sales made through such links will reward MageeNews.com a small commission – at no extra cost to you.
By
Medicaid Expansion in Mississippi has been wrongly construed as a vehicle to support non-working, able-bodied people who do not deserve free (to them) healthcare. On those grounds it has been summarily dismissed by some without further consideration. While not expanding Medicaid successfully prevents a few people from getting something they may not deserve, it also subjects Mississippians to an opportunity cost of $1 Billion each year – a curious position for the poorest and most unhealthy state in the union.
Medicaid Expansion allows economically vital healthcare employers (including financially struggling hospitals) in Mississippi an opportunity to split $1 Billion dollars in federal funds. The money would navigate from hospitals and clinics to their employees, suppliers, and third-party companies with which they contract into the hands of small businesses, banks, realtors, other business owners as well as their employees until finally making full circle back into the accounts of our state and local governments. All that notwithstanding, Mississippi has not yet expanded its Medicaid program.
Mississippi’s poverty is infamous. We have the highest poverty level in the country and only South Dakota (expanded Medicaid in 2023) has a higher level of medical debt. Not only are our citizens poor, as a state Mississippi is wholly reliant on the federal government’s financial support.
The current Medicaid program (funded 76% by the federal government) is not a burden on Mississippi taxpayers. On the contrary, it is a blessing to the poorest and most unhealthy state in the union without which we would be economically devasted. That perspective seems to be lost in the current conversation. What would Mississippi’s economy become if the federal government stopped funding Medicaid? Wrecked and shattered.
To that end, the economic argument for expanding the current program is simply “more of a good thing.” The current program is funded at 76% and traditional expansion is funded at 90%. House Bill 1725 provided for the remaining 10% to be funded by a tax on the Medicaid MCO’s in a largely budget neutral manner for Mississippi taxpayers.
The House plan would decrease the uncompensated care that plagues hospitals in the poorest state in the country. Many sources report that Mississippi hospitals average about $600M per year in uncompensated care with a majority of that represented by emergency room visits of uninsured patients. Also to be considered are the unpaid deductibles by impoverished patients insured through the ACA exchange plans, though there are no aggregate statistics presently available.
The question begs to be asked, “How does uncompensated care and shortfalls at Mississippi hospitals harm patients above the poverty line?” It’s a fair question, and the answer is simple and significant. When hospitals, who function as major Mississippi employers, thrive financially, they can increase salaries, hire additional employees, and make capital improvements to their facilities. These actions improve the lives of all Mississippians in several ways:
- When hospitals are paid for their services, more money is transferred to employees who then spend it locally, which benefits small businesses.
- Almost every time the money changes hands there is a state or local tax that will be recycled to the state, city, and/or county coffers, which will benefit our shared projects like schools, parks, and infrastructure.
- When hospitals are paid for their services, they can hire additional help which serve both Medicaid and non-Medicaid patients.
- When hospitals are paid for their services, they can improve their facilities which transfers funds to non-hospital employees (i.e. construction, supplies, ect).
- When hospitals make improvements to their facilities, all patients use them and benefit – both Medicaid and non-Medicaid patients.
By following this line of thought, it is natural to see that Mississippi should embrace traditional Medicaid Expansion (i.e. House Bill 1725). Why? Because it is just more of a good thing for the poorest state in the country. Multiple studies show that an expansion program that took advantage of the full federal match of 90% would bring in an additional $1 Billion into our state’s economy each year.
Not included in this plea for reason is the fact that Mississippi is last or nearly last in almost every major health statistic, including life expectancy. Those arguments have seemed to fall on deaf ears over the last 10 years. The good news is that you don’t have to abandon your brain to embrace your heart. It was the economic argument that tipped the scales for Mississippi leadership to begin the Medicaid program originally. Then Governor John Bell Williams said in 1969 that we should not “overlook an opportunity to get an $8 benefit for a $1 outlay” while referring to it as “common sense.” House Speaker Jason White said the same last week in different words, “Come for the savings, stay for the compassion.”
It’s time we moved forward with Medicaid Expansion in Mississippi.
MageeNews.com is the online news source for Simpson and surrounding counties as well as the State of Mississippi.
AS THE POOREST STATE IN THE NATION, WE MUST MOVE FORWARD AND EXTEND MEDICAID EXACTLY LIKE IT WAS ESTABLISHED IN THE BEGINNING–BEFORE THIS GOVERNOR PUT HIS SELFISH MOTIVES IN TO PLAY BY REJECTING A PLAN INITIATED BY GOVERNOR MUSGROVE.
IT IS SO SAD THAT THIS GOVERNOR WOULD REJECT FEDERAL MONEY TO HELP POOR PEOPLE, KEEP HOSPITALS IN RURAL AREAS FROM SHUTTING DOWN, AS WRLL AS CONTINUE TO CREATE JOBS.
HE CAN REPRESS POOR PEOPLE BY MANDATING A 7% STATE SALES TAX, BUT CAN REJECT “FREE” MONEY COMING FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
WE CLEARLY MUST PRAY FOR GOD TO INFUSE HIM AND THE LT. GOVERNOR WITH GODLY TO WISDOM CHANGE THEIR MINDSET–EVEN THOUGH THEY “BLINDLY” PROFESS TO BE CHRISTIANS.
I’m sorry but Medicaid expansion is NOT going to save any of the rural hospitals. In the other states that have already passed expansion with the purpose of saving the hospitals they have continued to close. The legislature doesn’t have the insight to do anything constructive to save the hospitals that are struggling. I think making the hospitals a part of UMMC would save them thousands of dollars through purchasing and administration reductions.