Reeves' proposals to overhaul the state's Medicaid reimbursement formula will provide a financial boon for hospitals if they work as intended, but will do nothing to help the hundreds of thousands of Mississippians who would have access to health coverage through Medicaid expansion.
Dr. John Gaudet is a former pediatrician who led an effort to pass Medicaid expansion through the ballot initiative process before it was overturned.
"As a physician, my focus really is less on the business aspects of running a hospital and more on the health care of patients that are going to that hospital," Guadet said. "I think we need to maintain our focus on the patient."
Reeves plan includes increasing the "bed taxes" that hospitals pay to allow more federal dollars to come into the state. This would, in theory, increase Medicaid reimbursement rates more in line with those of private insurers and result in additional $689 million in revenue for hospitals.
Reeves has said the state should focus on getting people into better paying jobs that provide health coverage and calls Medicaid "welfare." Gaudet says this characterization of the program as a handout is not true.
"Many of the people who would benefit from Medicaid expansion are already working," Gaudet said. "They're just working in jobs that don't provide health insurance coverage, which is actually becoming more and more common... we have to remember that these are our neighbors and our family members and friends."
Mississippi is one of just ten states that haven't expanded Medicaid and doing so would bring in an additional $1 billion in federal funding each year.
