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Inside Mississippi’s coverage gap, workers say health care is a ‘pipe dream’ or ‘whimsical idea’

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1 year ago

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When Brandon Allred woke up in the hospital after suffering heat stroke and a series of seizures at work, all he could think about was how much it was going to cost.

It was a legitimate concern: Seven years later, he’s still paying off the medical debt.

“It’s not just anxiety,” the 35-year-old father said, “but also the conscious, embarrassing fact that I’m living in one of the richest countries in the world and I am a natural born citizen and I have to sit here day by day and think ‘I dream of healthcare.’ I dream of a day where I can get all my teeth fixed and not have to worry about that. Or maybe I can figure out what was going on with me with those seizures.”

Allred, a prep cook and the primary provider for his six young daughters, works full-time but falls into Mississippi’s coverage gap, where he says health care is but a “pipe dream” and a “whimsical idea.”

Brandon Allred, 35-year-old father of six, works full-time but falls into Mississippi’s coverage gap. He is still paying off medical debt from a hospital visit seven years ago. Photo: Courtesy of Brandon Allred

The coverage gap is made up of low-income workers who make more than 28% of the federal poverty level — the maximum income allowed to currently qualify for Medicaid in the state — but less than the 100% of the federal poverty level needed to get subsidies that would make private insurance plans affordable. And it’s surprisingly big, comprising roughly 74,000 Mississippians, according to a recent KFF study.

If Medicaid were expanded in Mississippi – one of only 10 states that has not done so – Allred and tens of thousands of other working Mississippians like him would be covered. Income-eligible adults without children would also be covered.

It’s estimated that 123,000 uninsured Mississippians would gain coverage under expansion – that includes the 74,000 people under the poverty level and an additional 49,000 uninsured adults whose income is between 100% and 138% of the FPL. That means that under expansion, a family of four could make up to $43,056 and qualify for Medicaid.

Critics of expansion argue that anyone, even if they’re not offered health insurance through their employer, can purchase it through the marketplace. Those plans exist, but are so expensive that for those in the coverage gap, they practically do not exist.

Other critics of expansion argue that because there is a chance that some privately-insured Mississippians would switch to Medicaid under expansion, that’s reason to keep the 123,000 uninsured Mississippians uninsured — and turn down at least $1 billion a year in federal money to cover most of the cost.

Private insurance plans, especially ones with low premiums, have high deductibles that can easily run $5,000 a year. A plan with a deductible on the higher end of that spectrum would equate to about $400 a month – on top of premiums and copays – that an individual would need to pay in order for insurance companies to start picking up the slack.

A majority of uninsured adults make slightly too much to qualify for Medicaid under the present eligibility criteria, and so have no path toward health care.

As it stands, Medicaid eligibility for adults in Mississippi is very limited.

Firstly, Medicaid in Mississippi doesn’t currently cover childless adults – period. And even adults who have children would need to be making less than 28% of the federal poverty level to be eligible for Medicaid. For a family of two, such as a single mother and her child, 28% of the federal poverty level would be about $5,700 a year, or $475 a month.

That means that a working mother making incrementally more, such as 29% of the federal poverty level, would not qualify for Medicaid but would have to use nearly her entire salary if she were to pay out of pocket for a private insurance plan through the marketplace. This is an obvious impossibility for someone paying for rent and food and other basic necessities.

Nobody knows that better than Lakeisha Preston, a single working mother who couldn’t afford the deductibles on her insurance plan, and therefore was stuck paying out of pocket for a bout of pneumonia that put her in the hospital in 2019.

Over four years later she’s still paying off that medical bill – which forced her to move back in with her parents and take out personal loans.

“I had health insurance, it’s just that the deductibles were so high,” Preston explained. “I don’t go to the doctor all the time, and of course you have to meet the deductible first before the insurance covers you. So I was in that predicament.”

Ironically, Preston works at a federal Medicaid call center. She helps thousands of people, with incomes similar to hers, enroll in Medicaid in states with Medicaid expansion. As a Mississippian, she cannot get that coverage.

Preston said: “As a call center worker, I expect more from the state of Mississippi.”

Mississippi lawmakers have debated the need for expansion — mostly over partisan political reasons — for over a decade, despite the state’s abysmal public health metrics and pleas from doctors, hospital leaders and other health providers.

On Thursday, the deadline day for bills to pass their original chambers, Care4Mississippi, a coalition of 36 organizations whose goal is health care for all Mississippians, held a press conference at the Capitol. Doctors and health officials shared experiences from the frontline and urged lawmakers to pass expansion bills.

“As a pediatrician, I have seen firsthand the impact of parents’ health on their children,” Dr. Anita Henderson said during the press conference. “Children need their parents, and their parents need to act healthy, mentally, physically, and able to engage with their children. I have seen patients whose parents worked, sometimes two jobs, and lacked health insurance … The men and women in Mississippi are living almost a decade less than the people of Hawaii.”

Dr. Anita Henderson speaks to the media about Medicaid expansion during a press conference at the Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Thursday, March 14, 2024. Credit: Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today

This is the first year since Medicaid expansion was offered to states under the Affordable Care Act in 2014 that Mississippi Republican legislative leadership is considering it seriously. A House Republican bill overwhelmingly passed the full House and now sits in the Senate – which just killed its own expansion bill, according to Medicaid Chair Kevin Blackwell, R-Southaven.

But Allred said that after a decade, lawmakers aren’t moving fast enough or treating the situation for the health care crisis that it is.

“If there was a state that needed to have a red flag pinned on it to say ‘you have a medical emergency to take care of,’ it would be Mississippi,” he said. “And we need a rethinking of what health care is for our citizens in the state.”

Allred saw his father lose all his money as he battled cancer in the last six months of his life – despite the fact he’d worked hard at one company for 30 years. Growing up, his mother warned him not to let a medical debt go to collections, and said it always felt like “the medical industry was there to be feared.”

The father of six said he hopes that by the time his daughters are grown, they won’t have to choose between paying rent or paying a medical bill. Right now, his children are covered by Medicaid. But he worries if legislation isn’t passed, they’ll be in the same predicament he’s in once they turn 18.

“I don’t want them to follow in the same footsteps as me when they shouldn’t have to,” Allred reflected. “When they’re being told their whole life they’re being raised in the greatest country in the world but they’re also being told the greatest country in the world can not take care of you.”

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

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Mississippi Today

1964: Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party was formed

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4 hours ago

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April 26, 2025

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mississippitoday.org – @MSTODAYnews – 2025-04-26 07:00:00

by Jerry Mitchell, Mississippi Today
April 26, 2025

April 26, 1964

Aaron Henry testifies before the Credentials Committee at the 1964 Democratic National Convention.

Civil rights activists started the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party to challenge the state’s all-white regular delegation to the Democratic National Convention. 

The regulars had already adopted this resolution: “We oppose, condemn and deplore the Civil Rights Act of 1964 … We believe in separation of the races in all phases of our society. It is our belief that the separation of the races is necessary for the peace and tranquility of all the people of Mississippi, and the continuing good relationship which has existed over the years.” 

In reality, Black Mississippians had been victims of intimidation, harassment and violence for daring to try and vote as well as laws passed to disenfranchise them. As a result, by 1964, only 6% of Black Mississippians were permitted to vote. A year earlier, activists had run a mock election in which thousands of Black Mississippians showed they would vote if given an opportunity. 

In August 1964, the Freedom Party decided to challenge the all-white delegation, saying they had been illegally elected in a segregated process and had no intention of supporting President Lyndon B. Johnson in the November election. 

The prediction proved true, with white Mississippi Democrats overwhelmingly supporting Republican candidate Barry Goldwater, who opposed the Civil Rights Act. While the activists fell short of replacing the regulars, their courageous stand led to changes in both parties.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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Mississippi River flooding Vicksburg, expected to crest on Monday

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19 hours ago

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April 25, 2025

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mississippitoday.org – @alxrzr – 2025-04-25 16:04:00

by Alex Rozier, Mississippi Today
April 25, 2025

Warren County Emergency Management Director John Elfer said Friday floodwaters from the Mississippi River, which have reached homes in and around Vicksburg, will likely persist until early May. Elfer estimated there areabout 15 to 20 roads underwater in the area.

A truck sits in high water after the owner parked, then boated to his residence on Chickasaw Road in Vicksburg as a rising Mississippi River causes backwater flooding, Friday, April 25, 2025.

“We’re about half a foot (on the river gauge) from a major flood,” he said. “But we don’t think it’s going to be like in 2011, so we can kind of manage this.”

The National Weather projects the river to crest at 49.5 feet on Monday, making it the highest peak at the Vicksburg gauge since 2020. Elfer said some residents in north Vicksburg — including at the Ford Subdivision as well as near Chickasaw Road and Hutson Street — are having to take boats to get home, adding that those who live on the unprotected side of the levee are generally prepared for flooding.

A rising Mississippi River causing backwater flooding near Chickasaw Road in Vicksburg, Friday, April 25, 2025.
Old tires aligned a backyard as a deterrent to rising water north of Vicksburg along U.S. 61, Friday, April 25, 2025.
As the Mississippi River rises, backwater flooding creeps towards a home located on Falk Steel Road in Vicksburg, Friday, April 25, 2025.

“There are a few (inundated homes), but we’ve mitigated a lot of them,” he said. “Some of the structures have been torn down or raised. There are a few people that still live on the wet side of the levee, but they kind of know what to expect. So we’re not too concerned with that.”

The river first reached flood stage in the city — 43 feet — on April 14. State officials closed Highway 465, which connects the Eagle Lake community just north of Vicksburg to Highway 61, last Friday.

Flood waters along Kings Point Road in Vicksburg, Friday, April 25, 2025.

Elfer said the areas impacted are mostly residential and he didn’t believe any businesses have been affected, emphasizing that downtown Vicksburg is still safe for visitors. He said Warren County has worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency to secure pumps and barriers.

“Everybody thus far has been very cooperative,” he said. “We continue to tell people stay out of the flood areas, don’t drive around barricades and don’t drive around road close signs. Not only is it illegal, it’s dangerous.”

NWS projects the river to stay at flood stage in Vicksburg until May 6. The river reached its record crest of 57.1 feet in 2011.

The boat launch area is closed and shored up on Levee Street in Vicksburg as the Mississippi River rises, Friday, April 25, 2025.
The boat launch area (right) is closed and under water on Levee Street in Vicksburg as the Mississippi River rises, Friday, April 25, 2025.
City of Vicksburg workers shore up the bank along Levee Street as the Mississippi River rises, Friday, April 25, 2025.
The old pedestrian bridge spanning the Mississippi River in Vicksburg, Friday, April 25, 2025.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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Mississippi Today

With domestic violence law, victims ‘will be a number with a purpose,’ mother says

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20 hours ago

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April 25, 2025

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mississippitoday.org – @MSTODAYnews – 2025-04-25 15:07:00

by Mina Corpuz, Mississippi Today
April 25, 2025

Joslin Napier. Carlos Collins. Bailey Mae Reed. 

They are among Mississippi domestic violence homicide victims whose family members carried their photos as the governor signed a bill that will establish a board to study such deaths and how to prevent them. 

Tara Gandy, who lost her daughter Napier in Waynesboro in 2022, said it’s a moment she plans to tell her 5-year-old grandson about when he is old enough. Napier’s presence, in spirit, at the bill signing can be another way for her grandson to feel proud of his mother. 

“(The board) will allow for my daughter and those who have already lost their lives to domestic violence … to no longer be just a number,” Gandy said. “They will be a number with a purpose.” 

Family members at the April 15 private bill signing included Ashla Hudson, whose son Collins, died last year in Jackson. Grandparents Mary and Charles Reed and brother Colby Kernell attended the event in honor of Bailey Mae Reed, who died in Oxford in 2023. 

Joining them were staff and board members from the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the statewide group that supports shelters and advocated for the passage of Senate Bill 2886 to form a Domestic Violence Facility Review Board. 

The law will go into effect July 1, and the coalition hopes to partner with elected officials who will make recommendations for members to serve on the board. The coalition wants to see appointees who have frontline experience with domestic violence survivors, said Luis Montgomery, public policy specialist for the coalition. 

A spokesperson from Gov. Tate Reeves’ office did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

Establishment of the board would make Mississippi the 45th state to review domestic violence fatalities. 

Montgomery has worked on passing a review board bill since December 2023. After an unsuccessful effort in 2024, the coalition worked to build support and educate people about the need for such a board. 

In the recent legislative session, there were House and Senate versions of the bill that unanimously passed their respective chambers. Authors of the bills are from both political parties. 

The review board is tasked with reviewing a variety of documents to learn about the lead up and circumstances in which people died in domestic violence-related fatalities, near fatalities and suicides – records that can include police records, court documents, medical records and more. 

From each review, trends will emerge and that information can be used for the board to make recommendations to lawmakers about how to prevent domestic violence deaths. 

“This is coming at a really great time because we can really get proactive,” Montgomery said. 

Without a board and data collection, advocates say it is difficult to know how many people have died or been injured in domestic-violence related incidents.

A Mississippi Today analysis found at least 300 people, including victims, abusers and collateral victims, died from domestic violence between 2020 and 2024. That analysis came from reviewing local news stories, the Gun Violence Archive, the National Gun Violence Memorial, law enforcement reports and court documents. 

Some recent cases the board could review are the deaths of Collins, Napier and Reed. 

In court records, prosecutors wrote that Napier, 24, faced increased violence after ending a relationship with Chance Fabian Jones. She took action, including purchasing a firearm and filing for a protective order against Jones.

Jones’s trial is set for May 12 in Wayne County. His indictment for capital murder came on the first anniversary of her death, according to court records. 

Collins, 25, worked as a nurse and was from Yazoo City. His ex-boyfriend Marcus Johnson has been indicted for capital murder and shooting into Collins’ apartment. Family members say Collins had filed several restraining orders against Johnson. 

Johnson was denied bond and remains in jail. His trial is scheduled for July 28 in Hinds County.  

He was a Jackson police officer for eight months in 2013. Johnson was separated from the department pending disciplinary action leading up to immediate termination, but he resigned before he was fired, Jackson police confirmed to local media. 

Reed, 21, was born and raised in Michigan and moved to Water Valley to live with her grandparents and help care for her cousin, according to her obituary. 

Kylan Jacques Phillips was charged with first degree murder for beating Reed, according to court records. In February, the court ordered him to undergo a mental evaluation to determine if he is competent to stand trial, according to court documents. 

At the bill signing, Gandy said it was bittersweet and an honor to meet the families of other domestic violence homicide victims.

“We were there knowing we are not alone, we can travel this road together and hopefully find ways to prevent and bring more awareness about domestic violence,” she said.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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