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Governor’s allies on advisory board thwart effort to give poor moms timely health care

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12 months ago

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The state Medicaid director and a hospital CEO — neither of them doctors — bucked recommendations from health care professionals and delayed a vote that could have made it easier for expecting Mississippians to receive timely prenatal care.

The move comes just days after the release of a maternal mortality report that shows Mississippi is still one of the most dangerous places in the country to give birth.

The Mississippi Medical Care Advisory Committee heard presentations from Dr. Anita Henderson, former president of the state pediatric association, and Dr. Jaleen Sims, a Jackson-based OB-GYN. The two said at the committee’s Friday meeting that establishing pregnancy presumptive eligibility for Medicaid could make it easier to receive timely prenatal care in Mississippi.

The committee —made up of 11 members appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the House — is tasked by state law to advise the Division of Medicaid, which covers most births in Mississippi. The committee’s recommendation to the state Legislature this past year to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage was influential in the legislation’s subsequent passage.

Medicaid Director Drew Snyder, appointed by former Gov. Phil Bryant and reappointed by Gov. Tate Reeves, has opposed Medicaid expansion and was reluctant to endorse expanding postpartum care to mothers despite the urging of doctors this past year, in line with Reeves. On Friday, Snyder urged the committee to hold off on recommending presumptive Medicaid eligibility for expectant mothers. Kent Nicaud, a hospital CEO who is a strong political supporter of Reeves, aided Snyder in the effort by amending a motion that would have recommended the policy’s adoption.

Pregnancy presumptive eligibility allows people to receive health care when they’re pregnant, even if they’re not on Medicaid because it’s presumed that they qualify.

It’s an important step to reducing barriers to timely care. It can be complicated to get pregnancy Medicaid coverage, and those complications can mean the difference between a preventable pregnancy-related death and a safe delivery.

Though Medicaid policy states a person can qualify by simply attesting they are pregnant, most doctors and expecting people are under the impression a pregnancy test from a health care provider is required to be covered. Sims previously told Mississippi Today that despite the division’s policy, her patients applying for Medicaid have been asked for further confirmation to verify they’re pregnant.

That means Mississippians generally must pay out-of-pocket for a doctor’s pregnancy test test because they’re not presumed eligible for Medicaid. Then they must wait for their Medicaid application to be approved to receive care, unless they’re willing to continue paying out-of-pocket. Some doctors won’t even see them before they’re insured.

The division does retroactively reimburse prenatal care after applications are approved, but Matt Westerfield, spokesperson for the Division of Medicaid, told Mississippi Today last year that it takes the agency about 24 days to approve pregnancy applications.

Following the doctors’ presentations at the committee meeting, State Health Officer Dr. Daniel Edney made a motion for the committee to recommend the adoption of pregnancy presumptive eligibility to the Legislature or the division.

“Give these women a chance to have their babies,” Edney said. “Why wouldn’t we do it if we’re in such a crisis?”

After the motion was seconded, however, Snyder spoke up in opposition.

“Twenty minutes of discussion from two presenters is not enough on this complex issue,” Snyder said. “Rather than saying, ‘Let’s do everything we can,’ let’s do what’s smart and what works and what’s actually connected to improving outcomes.”

Snyder, an attorney, asked the committee if the division could consider and research the policy and return to the committee with their findings.

Dr. Billy Long, a gastroenterologist based in Madison, then expressed confusion about who had the power to establish the policy.

“I thought I heard you say, ‘Medicaid could not make this decision,’” he said to Snyder.

Snyder replied, “That’s correct, we need to send this to the Legislature,” and then immediately declined to get into the “nuances.”

It’s not clear what agency has the power to establish presumptive eligibility. Snyder, appointed Medicaid director by former Gov. Phil Bryant and reappointed by Reeves, has said previously that the Division of Medicaid wouldn’t utilize pregnancy presumptive eligibility unless directed to by the Legislature. Westerfield previously told Mississippi Today that position is to avoid paying “providers for services for women who subsequently would not qualify for Medicaid.”

Nicaud then suggested that Medicaid bring more information to the committee at a special meeting in January and repeatedly stressed that “educating” patients might be more helpful to improving outcomes for mothers and babies in Mississippi than presumptive eligibility.

Nicaud, who also doesn’t have a medical degree, is the president and CEO of Gulfport’s Memorial Health System and has donated almost $125,000 to Reeves since 2017.

Nicaud encouraged Edney to modify his motion, which Edney declined to do.

“We endorse the concept of presumptive eligibility unless there’s a reason we cannot,” Edney said. “If there’s an extra meeting, I’d be happy to attend.”

Nicaud then amended Edney’s motion to call a special meeting to discuss presumptive eligibility further and then make the committee’s recommendation to the division or Legislature.

Following the meeting, Snyder quickly left the Capitol chamber where the meeting was held and refused to take questions.

Henderson later expressed disappointment about the committee’s decision.

“Personally, I think it’s a no brainer,” she said. “I think this is an issue everyone should be on board with. If the rest of the country is, why aren’t we?”

Mississippi is one of 21 states as of January 2020 that doesn’t offer presumptive eligibility for pregnant people, according to KFF, and Mississippi is one of just three states that has not expanded Medicaid nor established presumptive eligibility.

According to a study commissioned with the University of Mississippi Center for Population Studies by the Center for Mississippi Health Policy, preterm births are less likely for low-income people when they live in a state with presumptive eligibility and expanded Medicaid.

Sen. Kevin Blackwell, R-Southaven, and Sen. Nicole Boyd, R-Oxford, say they will co-author a bill this upcoming Legislative session about presumptive eligibility for pregnant women. A previous attempt to establish presumptive eligibility by Rep. Missy McGee, R-Hattiesburg, did not make it out of committee this past session.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Meet the 2 Candidates for Mississippi Supreme Court’s Nov. 26 Runoff Election

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3 hours ago

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November 25, 2024

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mississippitoday.org – The Marshall Project – 2024-11-25 09:30:00

On Tuesday, Nov. 26, voters will determine who will hold one of central Mississippi’s three seats on the nine-member state Supreme Court. This 22-county area includes Hinds County and Jackson.

Justice Jim Kitchens is seeking a third, eight-year term on the high court. State Sen. Jenifer B. Branning is the challenger.

The state Supreme Court often has the final say in cases involving criminal, civil and death penalty appeals, questions on the state’s laws and constitution, and legal issues of public interest. It hears appeals from lower courts, such as the chancery and circuit courts. The court decided 260 cases in 2023 and issued rulings in 2,656 motions and petitions.

The Marshall Project – Jackson and Mississippi Today compiled information about each candidate to help you make an informed decision at the polls.

Admitted to Mississippi Bar: 1967

Residence: Crystal Springs, Copiah County

Relevant experience: Completing second term as Supreme Court justice; 41 years as practicing attorney, including nine as district attorney of Copiah, Walthall, Pike and Lincoln counties.

Campaign finance: As of Oct. 10, his campaign committee has raised $288,502, mostly from trial lawyers, and spent $189,675, leaving the campaign with $98,827. Read the latest report here.

Statement of economic interest: Kitchens and his wife are partners in a real estate company, Kitchens Properties, LLC, in Copiah County. Read the latest report here.

Kitchens was first elected to this seat in 2008, after more than 40 years practicing law, which includes nine years as a district attorney across four counties. He is one of two presiding justices, who have the most years on the bench, following the chief justice. Presiding justice is a role on the court’s executive committee that includes administrative duties, such as enforcing the court’s deadlines, and presiding over panels during oral arguments.

Campaigning at the 2024 Neshoba County Fair, Kitchens stressed his experience in the courtroom, especially on criminal cases, and promised impartiality.

Kitchens said he is “the guy that carries his oath of office around in his pocket as a daily reminder of what he swore to do. That oath teaches me that I’m not supposed to care whether people before the court are rich, poor, Black, White, Republican, Democrat, Libertarian or Independent. And I don’t care.”

Mississippi College of Law Professor Matthew Steffey described Kitchens as a “middle-of-the-road centrist.” On the bench, Kitchens’ dissents have keyed in on what the justice called oversteps in judicial power and scrutinized prosecutorial decisions.

Kitchens wrote a partial dissent on the decision about House Bill 1020, calling the creation of the court in Hinds County a “fiction of convenience that overreaches our judicial function, and of ultimate importance, our constitutional duty.” He also joined a dissenting opinion in the case that killed Mississippi’s ballot initiative.

Ensuring defendants who can’t afford representation have court-appointed lawyers is a theme throughout Kitchens’ career. He was the chair of the Public Defender Task Force, which was created in 2000 to study and make recommendations on the public defender systems in the state. In a 2018 interview with Mississippi Today, Kitchens expressed support for a more well-organized and adequately funded state public defender system for Mississippi.

The bulk of Kitchens’ campaign donations through Oct. 10 have come from trial lawyers. In addition to Mississippi attorneys, the campaign also received contributions from lawyers as far away as Oregon and Pennsylvania. In the three months since the July finance report, Kitchens’ campaign raised over $200,000, more than it had previously raised in the entire race. He has also received an endorsement from the Southern Poverty Law Center, an advocacy group specializing in civil rights litigation.

? Read Kitchens’ response to the candidate questionnaire from The Marshall Project – Jackson and Mississippi Today.

Admitted to Mississippi Bar: 2004

Residence: Philadelphia, Neshoba County

Relevant experience: State senator since 2016.

Campaign finance: As of Oct. 10, Branning’s campaign committee has raised $665,624, including a $250,000 loan from the candidate, and spent $343,728. The campaign reported a balance of $319,876, which left a discrepancy of about $2,000. Read the latest report here.

Statement of economic interest: Branning is listed as member, owner, stockholder or partner in several companies located in Philadelphia, including her law firm, Branning Properties, LLC, and Triple E Investments. Read her latest report here.

Republican state Sen. Jenifer B. Branning is running on a platform to represent Mississippians’ conservative values on the Supreme Court, she said at the 2024 Neshoba County Fair candidate forum.

Branning has no judicial experience. Since she joined the Mississippi Bar in 2004, she has practiced as an attorney, primarily representing businesses through her private practice in areas including real estate development, banking and agribusiness. She has also served as a special prosecutor in Neshoba County, a guardian ad litem in Neshoba and Winston counties, and as a staff attorney in the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Division of Business Services & Regulation.

Branning described herself as a “Christian conservative.” She has been endorsed by the state’s Republican Party and the National Federation of Independent Business Mississippi PAC, a special interest group for small businesses. She has been outspoken about overturning Roe v. Wade and supporting the state’s abortion ban, and about reducing taxes on businesses. Branning is also a member of the National Rifle Association. On criminal justice issues, Branning has voted in favor of mandatory and increased minimum sentences for crimes including shoplifting, motor vehicle theft and fleeing law enforcement.

In the state Senate, Branning chairs the Highways and Transportation Committee. She has touted her record on lowering taxes and reducing regulations on farmers and small business owners.

Branning comes from multiple generations of business owners in Neshoba County. Her grandfather, Olen Burrage Jr., owned and operated a truck farm, hauling timber and corn, according to previous news reports.

Her election committee has received contributions from political action groups including Truck PAC, Mississippi Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Stores Association PAC and the Mississippi REALTOR PAC.

Much of Branning’s campaign funding, however, comes from the candidate herself. She kicked off her campaign with a $250,000 candidate loan. She has also bankrolled her previous senate campaigns, with candidate loans as high as $50,000 in 2018. This year, her campaign committee also received funding from other Republican politicians and their campaign funds, including Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, the Committee to Elect Jeremy England (state senator), Harkins for MS (state Senator Josh Harkins), and Friends of Jason White (Mississippi House speaker).

Branning did not acknowledge or return the candidate questionnaire from The Marshall Project – Jackson and Mississippi Today.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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On this day in 1915

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3 hours ago

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November 25, 2024

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mississippitoday.org – Jerry Mitchell – 2024-11-25 07:00:00

Nov. 25, 1915

Credit: Wikipedia

A week before the silent film, “Birth of a Nation,” premiered at an Atlanta theater, William Simmons, along with 15 other men (including some who lynched Leo Frank) burned a cross on Stone Mountain, Georgia, signaling the rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan. 

The movie’s racist portrayals of Black Americans prompted outrage by the NAACP and others, leading to huge protests in towns such as Boston and the film’s closing in Chicago. 

Despite these protests, the movie became Hollywood’s first blockbuster, making as much as $100 million at the box office (the equivalent of $2.4 billion today). In the wake of the movie, the KKK became a national organization, swelling beyond 4 million members.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Podcast: Mississippi Hospital Association’s Roberson discusses Medicaid expansion outlook under Trump, other 2025 legislative health care issues

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6 hours ago

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November 25, 2024

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mississippitoday.org – Bobby Harrison and Geoff Pender – 2024-11-25 06:30:00

Richard Roberson, president and CEO of the Mississippi Hospital Association, tells Mississippi Today’s Bobby Harrison and Geoff Pender a new Trump administration would likely approve Mississippi Medicaid expansion work requirements. He says revamping the state’s certificate of need laws is likely to be a major issue before lawmakers, and he discusses a new alliance of hospitals that left the MHA and formed a new organization.

READ MORE: As lawmakers look to cut taxes, Mississippi mayors and county leaders outline infrastructure needs

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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