Mississippi
Must Expand
Medicaid Now
Health Care Coverage Cannot Wait
More than 180,000 more Mississippians would be eligible for Medicaid if the state expanded the program. That means Mississippi would be a healthier place to live and to work because Medicaid expansion creates jobs and boosts local and state economies. These numbers only tell part of the story. If you’re interested in joining Southerners for Medicaid expansion or telling your story, complete the form below and let us know how you would like to get involved.
MISSISSIPPI MEDICAID STORYTELLERS SPOTLIGHT
Join Mississippi advocates and Southerners for Medicaid Expansion coalition members to call for our state’s leaders to do what is right for Mississippi families. We have waited far too long for the thousand of Mississippians living without health insurance to access to quality, affordable health care coverage. Hear from a Mississippian who falls in the coverage gap—making too much money to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to afford private insurance.
Eight States, One Cause
Mississippi is among 12 states that have not expanded Medicaid. Access to affordable healthcare is not only crucial to improving the health of so many Mississippians, it also a key tool for improving children’s health, improving family economic security, and strengthening Mississippi’s workforce and economy.
According to the Commonwealth Fund, Mississippi’s health care system ranks last among all states across 49 measures of access to health care, quality of care, service use and costs of care, health outcomes, and income-based health care disparities. However, since 2014, Mississippi has declined the option to expand Medicaid eligibility to most1 adults with incomes under 138 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL; approximately $30,300 in annual earnings for a family of three)
The Mississippi Health Advocacy Program and Mississippi Center for Justice are joining advocates from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and South Carolina in the shared effort to expand Medicaid for essential workers, communities of color and uninsured families and children across the south.
The South has the nation’s highest uninsured rates, overwhelming rates of poverty, chronic health conditions, and racial health inequities. With over 1.5 million COVID-19 cases, and 56 rural hospital closures since 2014, expanding Medicaid would allow nearly 7.5 million people who are uninsured to gain coverage in these eight states that have denied health coverage to their residents.
200,000
Mississippians in the coverage gap
5
Hospital closures since 2010
12%
Of Mississippians have no health insurance
$1.5B+
Of funding from the federal government Mississippi has missed out on by not expanding Medicaid
42%
Of rural Mississippi hospitals are vulnerable or at risk of closure
Connect with Us
Get connected with the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program and the Mississippi Center for Justice for news and updates about the Southerners for Medicaid Expansion events or to host a storytellers event or vigil in your community.
800 N.President St.
Jackson, MS 39202
Phone: 601.353.0845
5 Old River Place, Suite 203
Jackson, MS 39202
Phone: (601) 352-2269