Approximately 200,000 low-income residents would have been affected
Mississippi is one of ten states yet to expand Medicaid under ACA with federal government covering 90% of costs
Mississippi Medicaid expansion efforts failed on Thursday
Negotiations between House and Senate had been ongoing for weeks
Republican-led legislature has previously resisted expansion due to cost concerns
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Medicaid expansion efforts in Mississippi came to a halt on Thursday as top lawmakers failed to agree on a final proposal before the legislative session ended. The proposed expansion would have provided health coverage to approximately 200,000 low-income residents in the state.
The House and Senate had been negotiating for weeks on various aspects of the expansion, including eligibility requirements and funding sources. However, they could not reach a compromise before the deadline.
Mississippi is one of ten states that have yet to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The federal government offers to cover 90% of the costs for new enrollees in expansion states. Mississippi's Republican-led legislature has previously resisted expansion due to concerns over cost and work requirements.
Republican House Medicaid Committee Chair Missy McGee expressed disappointment over the outcome, stating,
Mississippi's attempt to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act collapsed on Thursday night.
As many as 200,000 low-income residents could have benefited from this expansion and it may have also helped struggling rural hospitals.
State Representative Missy McGee, a Republican who was one of the most vocal proponents of expansion, expressed disappointment over the outcome.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(95%)
The article contains an appeal to authority fallacy when the author states 'All but 10 states have expanded their Medicaid programs to cover most poor adults in the decade since that option became available under the law.' This statement implies that because a majority of states have done something, it must be correct or desirable. However, this is not a logical argument and does not prove that expanding Medicaid is the best solution for every state.
All but 10 states have expanded their Medicaid programs to cover most poor adults in the decade since that option became available under the law.
House Democratic leader Rep. Robert Johnson III proposed a new plan for Medicaid expansion to Senate Republican leaders just hours before a final deadline.
Johnson promised more than 30 Democratic House votes if Senate Republicans agreed to a slight tweak of one provision in their expansion plan.
The proposal seemed to be well received by Senate Republican Medicaid Chairman Kevin Blackwell and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(95%)
No formal fallacies were found in the article. However, there is an example of a dichotomous depiction and an appeal to authority. The dichotomous depiction is presented in the sentence: “But Johnson, aiming to revive the expansion negotiations ahead of a Thursday at 8 p.m. deadline, approached Blackwell on the Senate floor Thursday late morning and a few minutes later met with Hosemann inside the Senate chamber to propose a tweak to the original Senate bill.” This sentence presents Johnson as trying to find common ground while not mentioning any parties who are uncooperative. The appeal to authority is found in this sentence: “We’ll look at anything between now and the deadline,” Hosemann said. “₧That’s something we just heard and we’ll talk it over. But we do think our original plan was a strong compromise, and it was unfortunate it wasn’t accepted.” In this example, Hosemann is presented as an authority on the issue because of his position, but his statement does not necessarily indicate expertise or knowledge on the specifics of the proposal. The score is not perfect (85-100) due to these two issues.
Dichotomous depiction: But Johnson, aiming to revive the expansion negotiations ahead of a Thursday at 8 p.m. deadline, approached Blackwell on the Senate floor Thursday late morning and a few minutes later met with Hosemann inside the Senate chamber to propose a tweak to the original Senate bill.
Appeal to authority: We’ll look at anything between now and the deadline,” Hosemann said. “₧That’s something we just heard and we’ll talk it over. But we do think our original plan was a strong compromise, and it was unfortunate it wasn’t accepted.”
Medicaid expansion legislation died in Mississippi Legislature on Thursday due to Senate inaction.
About 200,000 working poor Mississippians would have received healthcare through the expansion.
The compromise reached on Monday night covered people making up to 138% FPL, utilized federal match funds, and included a provision for MDM to reapply for work requirement waiver from CMS every year until it was approved.
House Democrats opposed the work requirement and prevented a two third veto proof majority and three fifths necessary vote in the Senate.
Lt. Gov. Hosemann expressed interest in continuing the Medicaid discussion in the off season, but House Speaker White mentioned other legislative priorities.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains several instances of appeals to authority and inflammatory rhetoric. The author quotes various individuals making statements about the failure of Medicaid expansion in Mississippi Legislature, but does not provide any evidence or reasoning to support these claims beyond the authority of the speakers. Additionally, there are several instances of inflammatory language used throughout the article to describe the actions and decisions made by legislators. For example, 'That inaction killed the bill by an 8 p.m. Thursday legislative deadline.' and 'It also would have included an option for voters to decide if that program should include a work requirement.' are both examples of inflammatory language used to describe the actions of Senate members and House Speaker Jason White respectively. However, no explicit fallacies were found in the article.
][House Speaker Jason White] said he was disappointed by the Senate’s inaction, and he said that he had not heard back from any Senate leadership regarding the voter referendum as of Thursday around 5 p.m.[/]
[Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann] told reporters the legislation was dead and that he hopes to bring it back up next year.'
Bias
(95%)
The article does not demonstrate any clear bias towards a specific political ideology or position. However, the author does use language that depicts the Senate's inaction as disappointing and frustrating for those who support Medicaid expansion. This language is not extreme or unreasonable, but it may suggest a slight leaning towards supporting Medicaid expansion.
I had my doubts about it, but I was told they were receptive, potentially, to this route.
It's disappointing that we have not been able to get this across the finish line.
Mississippi lawmakers reached an agreement to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, providing health coverage to approximately 200,000 low-income residents.
The compromise bill would extend coverage to people with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level (roughly $20,000 a year for an individual) if approved.
Accuracy
Mississippi's attempt to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act collapsed on Thursday night.
As many as 200,000 low-income residents could have benefited from this expansion and it may have also helped struggling rural hospitals.
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Bias
(95%)
The author expresses a positive attitude towards Medicaid expansion in Mississippi and portrays the holdout states as 'reliably red' and controlled by Republicans who have been opposed to the policy. The author also implies that there is newfound interest in expanding Medicaid due to the state's struggling health system and hospitals facing financial collapse.
As for how we arrived at this point, when the U.S. Supreme Court initially upheld the Affordable Care Act’s constitutionality, the court’s majority delivered some bad news to health care advocates: Medicaid expansion, the justices concluded, had to be optional, not mandatory under federal law.
But once in a while, as we’ve discussed, when it comes to the politics of health care, surprises happen.
Circling back to our recent coverage, there was an unexpected breakthrough in February
There are plenty of far-right ideologues and Republicans at the state level
Watch this space.
Yes, Mississippi is a reliably ‘Red’ state. And yes, Republicans continue to control all of the levers of power, including sizable majorities in the state House and state Senate.
