After three years of debate, the House Medicaid Committee approved a 60-month Medicaid expansion for new mothers on Tuesday.
As the deadline for advancing bills through committees drew near, Rep. Joey Hood R-Ackerman, chairman of the Medicaid committee, called the committee’s first meeting of the year and announced that the committee would not meet again.
Postpartum Medicaid Expansion
During the past two years and once more this session, extend postpartum Medicaid coverage, but Hood’s committee has never voted on them due to opposition from House leadership.
The modification was precipitated by the letter sent by Division of Medicaid Executive Director Drew Snyder to Hood and House Speaker Philip Gunn on Monday.
The letter supported extension and reassured Republican officials that doing so would not be equivalent to Medicaid expansion.
Afterward, Gunn informed the press that he would not oppose the extension bill, which had already been approved by the Senate. The letter was sent one day after the division’s ruling governor, Tate Reeves, reversed course and authorized coverage expansion.
When Missy McGee, R-Hattiesburg, filed the bill, she shared some of Reeves’ concerns that an extension is especially crucial in light of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization verdict, which led to the near-total prohibition of abortion in Mississippi.
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States Scramble To Extend Relief
One year of Medicaid coverage for new mothers has been permitted in Mississippi since 2020 when it was extended nationwide through federal COVID-19 relief.
However, this relief expires in April, leaving many states scrambling to enact their own extensions. Mississippi and Wyoming are the only two states in the United States that have not adopted a postpartum extension or Medicaid expansion. Both states are presently exploring legislation to extend postpartum leave.
Several Democrats on the Medicaid committee questioned why Reeves and Gunn supported extension only after the Dobbs ruling during an election year. Reeves will probably face Democrat Brandon Presley in November, but Gunn is not seeking re-election.
Presley has criticized Reeves’ Medicaid stances, whilst the Northern District Public Service Commissioner is in favor of Medicaid expansion in its entirety.
The bill, which passed the Senate by a vote of 41-11, will now be considered by the full House. Reeves has committed to sign the bill if it reaches the floor of the House and is passed without modifications.
Hood, who claimed following Tuesday’s hearing that he does not know when the bill will reach the House floor, will choose whether or not it will be brought up for a vote.
In an interview with SuperTalk Mississippi on Tuesday morning, Gunn stated that a bill’s committee vote does not necessarily indicate that it would reach the House floor.
We have elected to release the bill from the committee and preserve its viability. Gunn noted that the deadline for advancing bills out of committee is today. This indicates that the bill will be placed on the agenda of the House floor until it is considered.
This extension’s approval would be a major victory for the Senate leadership, particularly Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann. A strong supporter of extension Hosemann is preparing for the August Republican primary against state Sen. Chris McDaniel R-Ellisville. McDaniel voted against the extension on the Senate floor.
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