FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Doctors for America
PO Box 53313
1921 Florida Ave NW
Washington, DC 20009-9997
March 4, 2024
Mississippi to Expand Medicaid Under the Affordable Care Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As we approach the 14th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, Mississippi has now taken a major first step toward becoming the 41st state to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. After years of opposition in the Mississippi Legislature to even considering Medicaid expansion, changes in House Speakership opened the door to the overwhelmingly bipartisan 98-20 passage of a House bill to expand Medicaid for four years.
The bill’s Republican sponsor, Representative Missy McGee, called Medicaid expansion a “moral imperative” for “the well-being and dignity of every Mississippian.” Unfortunately, some of the worst and most drastic health outcomes are seen in Mississippi, including the lowest life expectancy in the US and one of the lowest life expectancies for Black Mississippians, over a third of the state’s population.
Doctors for America is excited by the success of this partnership between Republicans and Democrats to invest in primary and comprehensive care and reduce costs for 200,000 uninsured and underinsured Mississippians. This builds on the significant work done last year to expand Medicaid postpartum coverage from 2 to 12 months in Mississippi, where two-thirds of all births are funded by Medicaid.
DFA now looks to the Mississippi Senate to pass a companion bill, and to Governor Tate Reeves to sign Medicaid expansion into law. While we recognize this partial success, we also acknowledge it is flawed. The Mississippi House bill includes a work requirement of 20 hours per week. This repeats and validates harmful misconceptions about patients on Medicaid, most of whom already work or have valid exemptions. Unfortunately, increased administrative burdens not only lead to incorrectly denying coverage to thousands of patients even if they meet requirements, but also paradoxically waste millions of more dollars in implementation, which could be used to fund health and social services rather than restrictive barriers.
DFA advocates realize that the struggle to establish health as a human right is a difficult, challenging, and imperfect one. We express our solidarity for all advocates in Mississippi making the case to expand and improve universal, simple, and affordable healthcare and call upon our members in Mississippi to join them! This effort is evidence of the continued power of the Affordable Care Act to change and extend lives. Just as in Mississippi, opposition in the other 9 states that have not yet expanded Medicaid can change, because the ACA is here to stay.
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About Doctors for America:
Doctors for America mobilizes doctors and medical students to be leaders in putting patients over politics to improve the health of our patients, communities, and nation. DFA is an organization of over 27,000 physician and medical student advocates in all 50 states, representing all areas of specialization. DFA teaches physicians and medical students advocacy skills and does advocacy at a state and federal level. Our impact areas focus on access to affordable care, community health and prevention, and health justice and equity. DFA focuses solely on what is best for our patients, not on the business side of medicine, and does not accept any funding from pharmaceutical or medical device companies, which uniquely positions DFA as the organization that puts patients over politics and patients over profits. Find out more at doctorsforamerica.org and on Twitter drsforamerica.