Access to health care must be treated as a human right, not a topic of political divide, and legislators from the Mississippi House showed their commitment to the health of all Mississippians by swiftly passing Medicaid expansion legislation on Feb. 28.
Medicaid expansion was deemed a “moral imperative” by House Medicaid Committee Chair Rep. Missy McGee. It’s a no brainer: Mississippi’s current Medicaid program is dangerously outdated and leaves many residents without adequate protection. What should be a safety net more closely resembles the concrete we walk on — laid out a considerable time ago and known for being harsh and unforgiving.
You would think the sense of seriousness and urgency would be enough to inspire our Republican-led Senate to push the bill forward. Instead, there is fear that the upper house will stall a development nearly a decade in the making.
Following an alleged private meeting between Gov. Tate Reeves and state senators, it appears that Medicaid policy will remain unexpanded during the 2024 legislative session. In this meeting, Mississippi Today reported, Reeves would not sign any law increasing the availability of resources devoted to Medicaid.
As a result, senators have been potentially pressured into allowing House Bill 1725 to die.
If this proposed legislation, one that could benefit every individual in the state, never sees the light of day, we as constituents will have witnessed a gross display of corruption and an appalling lack of integrity on behalf of our state lawmakers. This development itself is another stain on Reeve’s controversial administration. A continued adherence to image politics from our head of state has been detrimental to the well-being and development of our state as a whole. Additionally, it’s a glimpse into the grim reality unfolding within the walls of our government.
At any rate, Reeves has always been adamant that the state cannot afford to expand Medicaid. Reeves’ stance on Medicaid has been well documented and has served as a major part of his campaign platform in his two successful bids for office. One could condense his views into the idea that Medicaid is welfare and that welfare is a bailout for lazy individuals. Unfortunately, that’s where we stand as a state in 2024.
Well, it may be unfair to attribute that attitude to the entirety of the state. In fact, polls suggest that many Republican voters in the state would have supported and voted for Medicaid expansion. Despite this, Reeves is sticking to his campaign promises, no matter how ridiculous or harmful to Mississippians they may be.
Beyond that, the House’s general recognition of Medicaid expansion as a moral imperative was a positive change of rhetoric, and the House finding itself in accordance and approving the bill are both steps in the right direction.
The legislation as it stands is not perfect, however. The bill contains a work requirement for Medicaid eligibility, which would alienate many citizens physically unable to work who would greatly benefit from the program. The inclusion of that work clause is contingent on federal government approval, though.
As it stands, Medicaid expansion is in legislative limbo. Sen. Kevin Blackwell, Medicaid Committee Chairman, plans to lead the Republican-led Senate in editing the House’s Medicaid bill in order to reach legislation that they believe both chambers can agree on. Of course, unless they can secure two-thirds of the vote and prevent a gubernatorial veto, Medicaid expansion is in Reeves’ (untrustworthy) hands.
Sen. Blackwell and the Senate will likely propose a legislative strike through which will be just as, or even more, costly as the House bill that originally came to them. Blackwell and the Senate wish to limit the potential losses that have ruined Medicaid expansion in other states.
For the first time in a long time, Mississippians seem to largely agree on a single issue. Parents, students, workers and people with disabilities alike would benefit from the legislation. Somehow, though, the political no-brainer of Medicaid expansion is in dire straits in the state of Mississippi. It remains to be seen whether or not Medicaid will be expanded this year, but if we don’t spend our tax dollars now, we’ll be paying with the lives of Mississippians — and soon.
Justice Rose is the opinion editor. He is a junior journalism major from Madison, Miss.
