Now is the time to expand health care in Mississippi
In April, a coalition took the first steps toward putting Medicaid expansion on the ballot in 2022.
Initiative 76 would give voters the opportunity to do what the Legislature has failed to do – expand health care coverage for all Mississippians. By passing it, more Mississippians will have health coverage and better access to care.
Census data shows 1 in 5 Mississippians lives below the federal poverty line. We also have the fifth-highest uninsured rate. Among nonelderly residents, 15.4% have no health insurance coverage. Medicaid expansion would likely provide coverage for 170,000 uninsured adults in Mississippi. Many of these adults are blue-collar workers or work in essential jobs.
Currently, only adults with children whose household incomes are below 26% of the federal poverty line qualify for Medicaid in Mississippi. To put this in context, a mother in Mississippi with two children only qualifies for Medicaid if her income is less than $5,710 per year. Expanding Medicaid would provide health insurance to all adults with incomes below 138% of the federal poverty line. For single adults, it would include people earning up to $17,774 per year. Families of three would qualify if they earn up to $30,305 per year.
Nearly 4 out of 5 adults who will become eligible for Medicaid under an expansion in Mississippi do not have children. Just under half of all newly qualified adults will be under the age of 34 and nearly half of all adults who would be eligible for Medicaid are women. Approximately 6 out of 10 newly eligible adults would be people of color, primarily Black adults.
Expanding health care coverage has real economic benefits for working families. Nearly 1 in 5 Mississippi families has medical debt in collection. The counties with the highest portion of families with medical debt are in underserved rural areas. Communities of color are more likely to have medical debt, but it is a heavy burden on rural white families as well. In Chickasaw County, for example, 47% of people of color have medical debt in collection, and so do 35% of white people. This is an enormous burden compared to the national rate of 15% of the adult population.
In states that have expanded Medicaid, studies have seen a significant reduction in medical debt. Expansion reduced the number of people with medical debt, the average size of medical debt and the likelihood of having new bills go into collection.
The economic benefits for working families go well beyond medical debt. When families have access to affordable health care, they become more financially secure. Studies in Ohio and Michigan found that expanding coverage made it easier for workers to find work or continue working. Other studies have found that families have better credit scores, fewer debts in collection and fewer evictions. They are less likely to exceed their credit card limits, to have their wages garnished or to file for bankruptcy.
Put another way, if we don’t expand Medicaid, working families in Mississippi will continue to rob Peter to pay Paul, covering bills on their credit cards or making late or partial payments on car loans or rent. When they can no longer juggle or the fees pile up too high, they will face eviction, garnishment and sometimes even bankruptcy to try to start with a clean slate.
Together, we can improve the health and financial life of working families in Mississippi. Join us by supporting Initiative 76.
Wingo Smith is a regional policy analyst for the SPLC Action Fund.
Photo by Nick Oza/The Republic
