As Mississippi lawmakers continue to have differences over if and how to expand Medicaid, House Speaker Jason White’s idea to allow voters to decide on the matter is not being welcomed by the Senate.
On Wednesday evening, the Republican speaker announced his chamber’s plan to submit a ballot referendum to their cross-chamber counterparts as negotiations between leaders stalled in recent days.
“Today, the Mississippi House of Representatives and the Senate recommitted HB 1725, the Medicaid expansion legislation, for further consideration, and in the morning, the House will deliver to the Senate a signed conference report to proceed with a statewide ballot referendum on the issue,” White said. “Moving through the final stages of the legislative process, it became apparent that opinions differed on the best way to address our healthcare crisis.”
Within two hours of White’s announcement, Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann issued a statement, virtually shutting down the possibility of a ballot referendum. While Hosemann did not provide his own opinion on the idea, he alluded to most senators being against it.
“We had some discussions with senators today about the possibility of a nonbinding referendum on the ballot, and the idea was not well received,” Hosemann said. “We are disappointed in the outcome this year but value the discussions which occurred this session – the first time this legislature has seriously considered healthcare reform in our state.”
The now-moribund suggestion from White came as House members overwhelmingly supported a plan earlier in the year to expand Medicaid coverage up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) with a tentative work requirement in place, meaning the deal would not falter if the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) denied the state’s waiver. The Senate responded with a plan of their own – one that would not draw from the federal government’s 90 percent cost match like the House’s – that would expand up to 100 percent of the FPL with a strict work requirement in place.
Throughout negotiations last week, the Senate did concede some ground with its submission of a plan that went up to 138 percent which the House wanted. However, a work requirement of at least 100 hours per month was included with a stipulation that the state continue to reapply to CMS annually – hinging on the reelection of former Republican President Donald Trump as a similar plan in Georgia has been stuck in expensive litigation under the Biden administration. Democrats in the House pulled back their votes on the updated plan, calling it faulty and too reliant on hypotheticals.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen in the election come November, and there was a time in the Trump administration where work requirements were allowed to be approved,” House Minority Leader Robert Johnson III said, vouching that the majority of people covered under expansion in other states are employed. “90 percent of the people nationally under the expansion program who submit applications for Medicaid already work. So, you’re asking for a requirement that already exists.”
Even with Johnson and other House members’ pleas, Hosemann said his chamber would not move forward with any bill related to expansion without a work requirement.
“I remain committed to finding ways to increase access for working Mississippians who otherwise do not have the resources for a simple check-up or an extended hospital stay,” Hosemann continued. “A strong work requirement, with necessary exceptions, is a bottom line for many senators. We look forward to continuing the conversation on access to healthcare in the future.”
With White’s referendum option, voters would have been given the opportunity during November’s presidential election to decide on whether they believe expansion is a proper route in trying to get more Mississippians insured and if a work requirement should be included.
Republican Gov. Tate Reeves ended Wednesday’s conversation, questioning why the House would want a referendum on expansion considering the legislature has not been able to restore the ballot initiative process in three years of trying.
“Mississippi conservatives can’t do a referendum on keeping men out of women’s locker rooms! Mississippi conservatives can’t do a referendum on eliminating the income tax! We can’t do a referendum on anything…but some House Republicans want to do one on Obamacare Medicaid Expansion???” Reeves wrote on social media. “Are you kidding me??”
