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No statewide official endorses Medicaid expansion at Neshoba

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In 2013, then-state Rep. Andy Gipson, R-Braxton, said he opposed Mississippi expanding Medicaid because there was no guarantee the federal government would continue to pay for the program.

“Knowing that the federal government may pay for a portion of it for the next two or three years is not enough comfort for me to go ahead and say, ‘You know, let’s expand this and take on the whole program,’” the Associated Press quoted Gipson as saying in 2013. “Certainly, we don’t have the funds to do that.”

More than 10 years after Gipson made those comments, he still opposes Medicaid expansion, and the federal government continues to pay for the bulk of the program for the 40 states — excluding Mississippi — and D.C. that have expanded Medicaid.

Importantly, there is no serious conversation of discontinuing Medicaid expansion, which provides health insurance for primarily the working poor, individuals earning a little more than $20,000 annually.

At that same meeting in 2013, Gibson said he was for people obtaining health insurance by getting “good-paying jobs,” not by signing up for Medicaid.

Ten years later Mississippi continues to be last in the nation in terms of per capita income and among the bottom 10 states in terms of the percentage of people with employer-sponsored health insurance, according to statistics from the Kaiser Family Foundation. And any gains in the number of Mississippians with private health insurance can be credited primarily to the health insurance exchange created by the federal Affordable Care Act, not because of more well-paying jobs.

At the recently completed political speeches at the Neshoba County Fair, Gipson said he still is opposed to Medicaid expansion and is counting on those jobs to provide health care coverage for working Mississippians.

“I am against Medicaid expansion. I always have been,” said Gipson, who is now the statewide elected commissioner of agriculture and commerce. “We need people having jobs to get insurance that way.”

Gov. Tate Reeves, who is campaigning for his second term as governor, also endorsed the concept of people obtaining health insurance by having well-paying jobs instead of by expanding Medicaid.

Gov. Tate Reeves speaks during the 2023 Neshoba County Fair in Philadelphia, Miss., Thursday, July 27, 2023. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today

“My view is the best way to do that is get more people with more and better high paying jobs which will allow them to have private insurance,” the governor said.

At the Neshoba Fair last week, none of the Republican statewide officials who spoke endorsed Medicaid expansion as a way to reduce the number of people without health insurance and as a way to provide a needed source of revenue for the state’s struggling hospitals, many of which are in danger of closing and many of which have had staff reductions in recent weeks.

“I think it is a little late on Medicaid expansion,” said state Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney.

“The match is not there that we used to have, and I don’t think the Legislature has the appetite to do anything,” Chaney added.

READ MORE: Q&A: What is Medicaid expansion, really?

When Medicaid expansion was enacted in 2014, the federal government paid 100% of the costs for two years. The portion paid by the federal government was stair-stepped down to 90% in 2020, which is what the federal match is now. But the federal government still offers a financial incentive for those 10 states that have not opted into the program. The financial incentive to expand Medicaid would equate to more than $600 million to Mississippi over a two-year period.

Chaney said his office is working to sign up people for the health care exchange which also is part of the same Affordable Care Act that resulted in Medicaid expansion. Through the exchange, people can sign up for private insurance where the federal government will help with the costs based on the income level of those signing up. Some people who qualify for Medicaid expansion do not qualify for the health insurance exchange, leaving a coverage gap in states that have not expanded Medicaid.

Secretary of State Michael Watson speaks during the 2023 Neshoba County Fair in Philadelphia, Miss., Thursday, July 27, 2023. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today

Secretary of State Michael Watson, said, “I am not in favor of Medicaid expansion, but I will say this – I think there is a number of issues out there that legislative leaders have perhaps been a little bit fearful of addressing because it is such an important topic.”

Watson said he created a task force to look at possible health care solutions in Mississippi. He said hospitals in states that have expanded Medicaid are having financial difficulties like those in Mississippi. Watson said he does not believe Medicaid expansion is “the silver bullet” for Mississippi hospitals, and that he will continue to work with others on possible solutions for the health care woes facing the state.

Treasurer David McRae said, “Being at the state treasury, I don’t have a position. I am waiting to see what the Legislature comes up with” and try to determine it is in the best interest of the state of Mississippi.

Attorney General Lynn Fitch said she does not support Medicaid expansion, but “If the law changes, I will certainly be supporting the law that is passed by the Legislature.”

Mississippi Republican Attorney General Lynn Fitch addresses the crowd at the Neshoba County Fair in Philadelphia, Miss., Wednesday, July 26, 2023. Fitch seeks reelection in November. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

During the 2023 session, Mississippi Today polled legislators on their position on Medicaid expansion. Only a handful said they outright opposed Medicaid expansion with a majority refusing to provide an answer or saying they wanted to see more information or had not decided their position on the issue that could bring more than a billion dollars annually in federal funds to the state.

Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann has said in the past he is willing to look at the issue of Medicaid expansion, though, during the past four years the Senate where he presides did not take any action on the issue.

Auditor Shad White missed the Neshoba County Fair because of a military commitment and was not available to offer a Medicaid expansion response.

All of the statewide officials are running for re-election this year.

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

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 Today

Mississippi River flooding Vicksburg, expected to crest on Monday

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

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

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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