Harrison: Gov. Tate Reeves, other GOP leaders who oppose Medicaid expansion should thank Joe Biden for his help
Below is a political analysis column by
Gov.
One of the primary arguments used by Reeves and others is that if Medicaid expansion is enacted, it will result in thousands of Mississippians losing private coverage from the health insurance marketplace exchange.
They argue that working poor Mississippians already are being covered through private health insurance policies at little or no cost on the exchange. If Medicaid was expanded, those who had private health insurance at little or no cost on the exchange would be forced under federal law to relinquish those policies and receive health insurance through Medicaid.
The reason that working poor Mississippians can receive those policies at such favorable rates is because of
All
It is unlikely a
But what we know will be available after 2025 is Medicaid expansion like 40 other states already have enacted, in which the federal government pays the bulk of the cost to provide health care for the working poor.
During the 2024 Mississippi legislative session, Reeves, much of the
Both Medicaid expansion and the health insurance marketplace exchange are components of the Affordable Care Act, known by some as Obamacare.
A little history of the ACA might be helpful.
Under the original ACA legislation passed in 2010, the intent was that states would be required to expand Medicaid. But the
Under the original intent of the ACA before the
But the
Those subsidies were substantially enhanced under legislation passed in recent years under Biden. For people below 150% of the federal poverty level, thanks to the Biden legislation, they can receive a policy with no monthly premiums opposed to having to pay roughly 2% of their annual income as they had to under the original ACA. Plus, out-of-pocket expenses and deductibles are much lower under the Biden legislation than under the original ACA, though there are still out-of-pocket expenses and deductibles that make the policies cost prohibitive for many low income people. But regardless, those enhanced subsidies, which were cited by Reeves and others as a reason not to expand Medicaid, are slated to end at the end of 2025.
Importantly, under the ACA after the
If
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