JACKSON, ma’am. — Mississippi’s Republican legislative leaders said Thursday they plan to push Medicaid expansion to cover working people who earn too little to afford private insurance — a position that business groups have advocated, but which is Republican Gov. Tate Reeves is against.
House Speaker Jason White and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann spoke about their 2025 policy priorities to hundreds of business and community leaders at Hobnob, a social gathering hosted by the Mississippi Economic Council, the state chamber of commerce.
Expansion of Medicaid is an option under the health care reform that then-President Barack Obama signed into law in 2010. Mississippi is one of the poorest states in the US, and it is one of 10 states that have not expanded the program. The vast majority of funding for the expansion would come from the federal government, but the state would have to cover some of the costs.
However, Reeves calls Medicaid “welfare” and has often said he doesn’t want more people to sign up. The Governor usually speaks at Hobnobwhich will be held at the Mississippi Coliseum on the state fairgrounds. But this year he did not appear at the event.
MEC and two other business groups — the Mississippi Manufacturers Association and the Business and Industry Political Education Committee — released a joint statement in April as legislative leaders negotiated the possibility of Medicaid expansion. The groups said expanding access to health care would lead to “a healthier population, a healthier workforce and an improved quality of life, all of which contribute to stronger Mississippi communities.”
The three groups said they trust elected officials and government agencies to “use federal dollars responsibly.”
Reeves is in his second term as governor, after two terms as lieutenant governor.
Hosemann said Thursday that Medicaid expansion could help about 75,000 working people who can’t afford insurance, noting, “There’s a governor who doesn’t necessarily agree with some of our proposals.”
White said he has heard politicians say elected officials should run the state like a business.
“Providing affordable access to health care for low-income workers is a smart investment in our workforce, and it is exactly the business approach that each of you would take in your own individual businesses,” White said.
The three-month term starts in early January.
White said some of his other big goals for the session include that abolition of the state income taxlowering the 7% sales tax on groceries and adopting a plan to allow children to attend public schools outside the districts where they live.
Hosemann said the Senate will propose a grocery tax cut. He did not mention a phaseout of the income tax or a school choice plan among his policy priorities. He said Mississippi has been working to reduce it for years personal income tax under a law passed in 2022.