Mississippi House Medicaid Committee Chairman Rep. Missy McGee, R-Hattiesburg, discusses the cost of Medicaid expansion at a public legislative conference committee meeting held at the State Capitol, on April 23, 2024, in Jackson, Mississippi. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Georgia is the only state with a Medicaid work requirement, and it is suing the federal government to try to keep the mandate in place. The work requirement was approved by then-President Donald Trump’s administration, but the Biden administration announced in December 2021 that it was revoking the approval. That prompted Georgia officials to sue.
Mississippi is one of the poorest states in the U.S., and advocates say covering tens of thousands more people with Medicaid could help them manage chronic health conditions such as asthma and diabetes.
The federal health overhaul signed by then-President Barack Obama in 2010 allowed states to expand Medicaid, largely to people who work low-wage jobs without insurance. Mississippi is among the 10 states that have resisted expansion.
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Republican Gov. Tate Reeves has said for years that he does not want to put more Mississippi residents on government programs. But dynamics in the Republican-controlled Legislature changed this year with the selection of a new House speaker, Jason White, who said expansion could help some of Mississippi's financially struggling hospitals.
The House voted by a wide bipartisan margin in late February to expand Medicaid coverage to about 200,000 people who earn up to 138% of the federal poverty level, or $20,120 annually for one person. Mississippi has about 3 million residents, and its Medicaid program covered 374,823 people in March.
In late March, the Senate passed its own pared-down version that would extend eligibility to people earning up to 100% of the federal poverty level, just over $15,000 for one person. Senate Medicaid Committee Chairman Kevin Blackwell, a Republican from Southaven, said about 80,000 people would become eligible for coverage but he thought about half that number would enroll.
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mississippi-lawmakers-poised-vote-medicaid-expansion-plan-work-mandate