In Mississippi, Medicaid expansion advocates continue to press their cause

Oct 9 2014

Backers of expanding the low-income health insurance program say elected officials are turning their back on hundreds of thousands of poor Mississippi residents by refusing the federal funds that come with the expansion. Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, insurers appear to be adding a wrinkle to Gov. Corbett's expansion plan. Also, election outcomes will play a big role in where such plans proceed.

The Associated Press: Health Advocates Decry Lack Of Medicaid Expansion
Groups supporting low-income Mississippi residents said Tuesday that elected officials are ignoring 300,000 people and refusing billions of federal dollars by choosing not to expand Medicaid in one of the poorest states in the nation. If the state were to extend Medicaid, as allowed under the health overhaul that President Barack Obama signed into law, many low-wage workers could receive coverage that would enable them to afford doctors' visits, prescriptions and medical supplies, said Roy Mitchell of the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program. He said bus drivers, cashiers, day care workers and many others are in jobs that provide modest paychecks but no health insurance coverage (Pettus, 10/7).

Mississippi Public Broadcasting: Docs Group Joins Push To Expand Medicaid In Mississippi
A Mississippi physicians group is joining the push to expand Medicaid in the state. The Mississippi Primary Care Association believes Medicaid expansion is an important step to improve access to health care state wide. The Mississippi Primary Care Association represents 21 community health centers around the state which largely offers care to the poor and uninsured (Hess, 10/8).

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Insurers Back Away From Corbett's Medicaid Expansion Plan
Some health insurers are having trouble finding doctors and hospitals to accept low rates under Gov. Tom Corbett's Medicaid expansion plan, leading one company to quit the program and another to reduce participation. Highmark Inc., the state's largest health insurer, said it won't participate in Corbett's Healthy PA program because it couldn't sign enough doctors to its network. Healthy PA is an alternative to Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, proposed by Corbett and approved by the federal government in August, in which private insurers provide coverage to Medicaid recipients (Nixon, 10/7).

Governing: How the 2014 Governors Races Could Impact Medicaid Expansion
In the largest batch of gubernatorial contests since Republicans won big in 2010, this November has major implications for the future of Medicaid expansion in several states. The potential changes are mostly isolated to races where there are good chances that the governor's office could change parties. In some of those cases, state legislatures -- some of which bear the imprint of the 2010 GOP wave -- present obstacles to gubernatorial candidates pledging to expand Medicaid to more poor adults (Kardish, 10/7).

Also in the news related to Medicaid and the health Law -

Modern Healthcare: Medicaid Managed Care Rates Must Factor In Insurance Tax
After months of ambiguity, the CMS has clarified that states must factor in the Obamacare health insurance tax in setting the rates they pay Medicaid managed-care plans (Dickson, 10/7).