Jan. 23, 1955

Leontyne Price became the first Black American to sing opera on television, appearing in the title role of Puccini’s “Tosca.” It was the culmination of a childhood dream for the Laurel, Mississippi, native after going on a school trip at age 14 and hearing Marian Anderson sing. 

“The minute she came on stage, I knew I wanted to walk like that, look like that, and if possible, sound something near that,” she said. 

When she performed alongside a White tenor, many NBC affiliates in the South refused to air the broadcast. But 11 years later, her hometown and many other radio stations across the South carried her live performance in “Antony and Cleopatra.” 

With her soaring soprano, she became the first woman to open the new Met at Lincoln Center in 1966. She has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Kennedy Center Honors and 19 Grammy Awards. In 2017, she was inducted into The Performing Arts Hall of Fame at Lincoln Center alongside the likes of Louis Armstrong, Plácido Domingo and Yo-Yo Ma. Her interview in the documentary, The Opera House, prompted The New York Times to rave, “Leontyne Price, Legendary Diva, Is a Movie Star at 90.”

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

Low-income women would be able to access free prenatal care faster under a bill that passed the House Medicaid committee Wednesday. 

The same law passed the full Legislature last year, but never went into effect due to a discrepancy between what was written into state law and federal regulations for the program, called Medicaid pregnancy presumptive eligibility.

House Medicaid Chair Missy McGee, R-Hattiesburg, author of the bill, revised last year’s bill to remove the requirement women show proof of income. She is hopeful the policy will garner the same support it did last year when it overwhelmingly passed both chambers. 

“CMS (The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) had some issues that they really did not approve of in our law, and after we talked it through we realized that the changes they wanted to make do no harm to the intent of the Legislature, do no harm to the law itself, do not add any costs to the fiscal note of the program,” McGee said during the committee meeting. 

Changes include that a pregnant woman will only have to attest to her income – not provide paystubs – and will not have to provide proof of pregnancy. 

McGee’s bill also makes changes to the time frame for presumptive Medicaid eligibility. Last year’s legislation said women would only be eligible for 60 days under the policy, with the hopes that by the end of those 60 days her official Medicaid application would be approved. Federal guidelines already have a different timeframe baked in, which state lawmakers have included in this bill. 

The federal timeframe, now congruent with McGee’s bill, says a pregnant woman will be covered under presumptive eligibility until Medicaid approves her official application, however long that takes – as long as she submits a Medicaid application before the end of her second month of presumptive eligibility coverage. 

“Let’s say a woman comes in for January 1 and is presumed eligible. She has until February 28 to turn her application in,” McGee said, adding that if Medicaid took a month to approve her application, the pregnant woman would continue to be covered through March. 

Eligible women will be pregnant and have a household income up to 194% of the federal poverty level, or about $29,000 annually for an individual. 

The bill does not introduce an additional eligibility category or expand coverage. Rather, it simply allows pregnant women eligible for Medicaid to get into a doctor’s office earlier. That’s notable in Mississippi, where Medicaid eligibility is among the strictest in the country, and many individuals don’t qualify until they become pregnant. 

An expectant mother would need to fall under the following income levels to qualify for presumptive eligibility in 2025:

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

A Wednesday budget hearing for the State Auditor’s Office devolved into shouting and a tense back and forth that culminated in Auditor Shad White calling Sen. John Polk of Hattiesburg a liar and threatening to sue the legislator for defamation. 

In what would normally be a mundane meeting at the state Capitol, the Appropriations subcommittee hearing erupted over questions related to NFL hall of fame quarterback Brett Favre and a $2 million dollar consultant’s study White commissioned to determine ways state leaders could save money.

“You’re not a lawyer — this is not a cross examination,” White told Polk, the Republican who helps set his agency’s budget. 

The first argument between the two occurred when Polk questioned how White’s agency calculated the dollar figure for investigative fees and unpaid interest the auditor alleges Favre owes the state in connection to the state federal welfare scandal. 

“I’ve had several numbers people look at the court record and look at what you’re saying (Favre) owes, and nobody can make it come to your number,” Polk said. “Does that surprise you?” 

White did not address the specific instance of how the agency calculated the figure, but he said generally the agency tracks the number of hours certain investigators spend on a case. But White took issue that Polk was questioning that dollar figure at all. 

“I have never once been called before this body to testify before any sort of hearing on the DHS scandal,” White responded. “The largest public fraud in state history. And the first question I get in my time as state auditor from a state senator is ‘Hey did you get the Brett Favre number correct?’” 

The other major argument that erupted in the hearing was when Polk questioned a $2 million contract that White’s agency executed with Massachusetts-based consulting firm Boston Consulting Group to find wasteful spending in state agencies.

White believes the contract with the firm was necessary to determine how state leaders can trim the fat in state agencies. But Polk has questioned whether auditor skirted the appropriations process by not getting legislative or gubernatorial approval to conduct the study, and whether the study was more to help White’s future political ambitions than address government spending..

Polk alleged that White did not conduct a proper Request for Proposal, a process government bodies use to solicit services from private companies. The process is used to encourage competition among businesses and net the lowest price. 

“You are a liar,” White said of Polk. “You’re making this up right now.” 

Polk responded that the Department of Finance and Administration told him White’s agency did not use an RFP. 

The Forest County lawmaker also asked White if any of his family members had worked for Boston Consulting Group. The auditor said no and if Polk insinuated that any of his family had, then he would sue the legislator for defamation. 

“This line of questioning feels less about policy and it feels more about politics to me,” White said. “That’s exactly what it feels like. I’ve never been questioned on an audit like this right up until the moment where the lieutenant governor thinks I might be the thing standing between him and the governor’s office.” 

Both White and Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann have publicly said they’re considering running for governor in 2027. Hosemann, the presiding officer of the Senate, appoints senators to lead committees. 

Polk told Mississippi Today in an interview that Hosemann had not directed him to ask any specific question, and the lieutenant governor gives deference to committee leaders on how to manage committee functions. Rather, Polk said he was the one who originally raised his concerns with Hosemann. 

Polk said his line of questioning simply stemmed from his role on the money-spending Appropriations Committee, which sets his agency’s budget, and was to ensure that White’s agency was spending money efficiently. 

“So that’s my only thing here — is to make sure the citizens of Mississippi and the taxpayers of Mississippi get their money’s worth from you or anyone else in state government,” Polk said. “And I’ll be honest with you, your calling me a liar previously is so uncalled for.” 

Polk recently requested and received an attorney general’s opinion that said White overstepped his authority in hiring the consultant for $2 million. An AG opinion does not carry the force of law, but serves as a legal guideline for public officials.

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