MS SPOTLIGHT - NEW: Cost of failing to expand Medicaid

Senate Republicans reject plan to expand Medicaid, provide health care coverage to 300,000 more Mississippians

See the full story by Bobby Harrison of Mississippi Today

For those without insurance, emergency rooms become avenues for primary care. But services provided in the ER may run 10 times higher than regular services.

Dr. Tim Alford knew that Mississippians were struggling to get health care before he began working in the emergency room in Kosciusko five years ago.

It’s far worse than he thought, said the longtime family physician and past president of the Mississippi State Medical Association. “People are not being able to get their primary care, so they default to the emergency room. People are flocking here because so many people are locked out of the system.”

This Mississippi Spotlight excerpt from Mississippi Edition takes parts of Dr. Alford's conversation with Jerry Mitchell to explore the cost of not expanding Medicaid.

See the full story by Jerry Mitchell of the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting

Hospital leaders and state lawmakers renew the fight to expand Medicaid in Mississippi

Mississippi's rural hospitals were facing challenges before the coronavirus pandemic began last year. Questions regarding their viability surfaced regularly, and some, like North Oak Regional Medical Center in Tate County closed down due to mismanagement. Now, the current pandemic is adding new financial obstacles with limitations on elective surgeries and an influx of un or under-insured patients.

For years a collection of health professionals and state lawmakers have sought to solve this problem by advocating the expansion of Medicaid. Supports say the federal program would inject over a billion dollars into the state's health care system. We talk to Tim Moore of the Mississippi Hospital Association and Senator Hob Bryan (D).

See the full story by Luke Ramseth of the Clarion Ledger.

Clarion Ledger

Mississippi Today

Jackson Advocate

Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting