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Q&A: Rev. Charlton Johnson on seeing Medicaid expansion not as a financial issue, but a moral necessity

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1 year ago

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Rev. Charlton Johnson only joined Together for Hope as leader of its Delta region in September, but he began thinking about Medicaid expansion long before that.

Together for Hope, an organization that works with people in the poorest counties in the country, has ramped up its efforts advocating for Medicaid expansion in Mississippi. The nonprofit hosts summits all over the states to bring together faith leaders, medical experts and health care advocates to raise awareness about Medicaid expansion. The policy, which would provide health insurance for an additional 200,000 to 300,000 Mississippians, would greatly improve health care access for the communities they work with, according to the organization.

But Gov. Tate Reeves remains steadfast in his opposition, despite support from a majority of Mississippians, and has derisively referred to Medicaid expansion as adding more people to “welfare rolls.”

Mississippi is one of only 10 states that has not expanded Medicaid. Over its first few years of implementation, research shows expansion would bring in billions of dollars to Mississippi and help the state’s struggling hospitals.

Johnson, who was born in Greenville and who has worked as a chaplain for hospitals in Memphis and Jackson, acknowledges its financial benefits. But expansion is about more than that, according to Johnson — it’s really about helping your neighbor.

Johnson spoke with Mississippi Today about the need for Medicaid expansion, and what the Governor’s refusal to consider the policy says about morality in Mississippi.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Mississippi Today: Talk to me a little bit about what Together for Hope is and what it does for people who have not heard of it.

Rev. Charlton Johnson: It is a coalition with its focus on fighting rural, persistent poverty. Persistent poverty is defined as an area that has been under the federal threshold for poverty for consistently 30 years, and in Mississippi alone, we have 53 counties that meet that definition of persistent poverty. We are a national group, so I’m serving what we call the Delta region, which comprises the poorest counties in Mississippi, in Arkansas and Missouri; some parishes in Louisiana; Illinois — basically along the Mississippi River.

MT: Can you explain a little more in detail what the organization does, specifically?

Johnson: We serve as a bridge for grassroots organizations and what we call grass-top organizations that are trying to find ways to make an impact on the ground. For instance, there is this group that we partner with out of the Delta called Hands for Hope. They have tried to intervene with the food scarcity in that area because they don’t have a lot of grocery stores and fresh foods. Most people do their grocery shopping at Family Dollar or Dollar General. Now, they have a space where they receive fresh foods, like a distribution. Our job is making that connection between the community and that organization. A lot of grassroots organizations have a mission or idea of how they want to help the community, but they don’t always have the resources to turn something around.

MT: What kind of work does Together for Hope do around Medicaid expansion?

Johnson: It’s largely advocacy, with hosting the summit. Expansion has not been framed the right way. That was even mentioned in our last staff meeting, that we almost need to just pull it back from saying Medicaid expansion versus just starting to meet those who are in the gap. There are so many people who are in that void of not being able to receive health care.

As a chaplain in hospitals, I’ve seen people use the emergency room as their primary care physicians, or they can’t go to the doctor and get sick enough they end up in the ER. That’s because people don’t have insurance. Seeing that was an awakening moment for me — it was when I began to recognize that people are not just running in here because they’re sick. It’s because the hospital has become their only option.

MT: I’m sure you were hearing about expansion long before starting this job. How do you think we have been talking about expansion, and how do you think we should be talking about it?

Johnson: Before coming into this role, I heard conversations about the need to expand Medicaid, which came while President Obama was in office. But there was so much resistance from red states to support that kind of initiative. People were trying to do their best to tear it apart. And Mississippi, of course, being the red state that it has long been, did not accept monies to help make this program more robust in Mississippi. So to hear Governor Reeves saying that he still isn’t interested in expanding Medicaid, to me it is just continuing the talking point that I heard from people who share his political ideology. When I heard that this organization Together for Hope was out there trying to help people better understand how it helps, not just people but the community as a whole and to also fight poverty, I wanted to be on the front lines.

MT: I’m wondering how you, as a pastor, square red states that are really religious with this resistance to helping some of the most vulnerable people in the state?

Johnson: I have a hard time. As a person of faith, it’s so hypocritical to me, because when you look at the 10 commandments, Jesus teaches that all of those commandments can be boiled down to two. The first is loving God, but the second one is loving your neighbor as yourself. And if I love my neighbor, then I recognize that we have a mutual interest in each other doing well.

That’s not something that I readily see in a hospitality state like Mississippi. So that’s hard for me to square for myself personally, but I also recognize that we’re all at different places in our walk of faith. I think if you’re Christian, you walk the walk of Christ long enough at some point, it changes your heart, and it begins to alter the way you see those around you, so I have hope that one day they’ll see that change.

But until that day, it just means that those of us who do see the need for change, need to not only be vocal, but need to be out front with doing those acts of compassion, of grace and mercy.

MT: If you were to explain what Medicaid expansion is to someone who wasn’t familiar with it, or someone who opposes it, what would you say about the policy and its significance?

Johnson: I’ve been holding on to a passage in Psalms 23 which says that “though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.” It’s not that we don’t have something to fear, but Christ is with us. Christ is with the hurting. And to say that we are Christ’s followers means that we need to follow Christ to where those who are hurting to help, to offer grace, to offer support.

And I see access to health care as a means of offering grace to people, or expanding Medicaid, bridging the gap — whatever phrase people want to put to it.

MT: Together for Hope advocates for expansion because of their work in communities of poverty, as I understand it, so can you talk a little bit about the connection between poverty and poor health outcomes?

Johnson: If people are not getting the medical care they need, the health disparities are going off the charts. People are dying unnecessarily because they don’t even have the option of going to the doctor when they need it. When they get sick, they have to just muster through it and hope that they’ll be okay. And I don’t think that’s what it means to live in a community.

MT: If Mississippi continues to forgo expansion, what are the consequences for the communities you work with?

Johnson: Those health outcomes will continue to get worse and worse is the short answer. But I don’t think that robs compassionate people of ingenuity. We’re going to find a way to help people.

Expansion seems the most logical way that it can be done, but if we have to find an I’ll-climb-the-mountain-side way of helping people with health care access, we will. 

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

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Mississippi Stories: Michael May of Lazy Acres

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10 hours ago

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January 21, 2025

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mississippitoday.org – rlake – 2025-01-21 14:51:00

In this episode of Mississippi Stories, Mississippi Today Editor-at-Large Marshall Ramsey takes a trip to Lazy Acres. In 1980, Lazy Acres Christmas tree farm was founded in Chunky, Mississippi by Raburn and Shirley May. Twenty-one years later, Michael and Cathy May purchased Lazy Acres. Today, the farm has grown into a multi seasonal business offering a Bunny Patch at Easter, Pumpkin Patch in the fall, Christmas trees and an spectacular Christmas light show.  It’s also a masterclass in family business entrepreneurship and agricultural tourism.

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

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On this day in 1921

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18 hours ago

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January 21, 2025

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mississippitoday.org – Jerry Mitchell – 2025-01-21 07:00:00

Jan. 21, 1921

George Washington Carver Credit: Wikipedia

George Washington Carver became one of the first Black experts to testify before Congress. 

His unlikely road to Washington began after his birth in Missouri, just before the Civil War ended. When he was a week old, he and his mother and his sister were kidnapped by night raiders. The slaveholder hired a man to track them down, but the only one the man could locate was George, and the slaveholder exchanged a race horse for George’s safe return. George and his brother were raised by the slaveholder and his wife. 

The couple taught them to read and write. George wound up attending a school for Black children 10 miles away and later tried to attend Highland University in Kansas, only to get turned away because of the color of his skin. Then he attended Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, before becoming the first Black student at what is now Iowa State University, where he received a Master’s of Science degree and became the first Black faculty member. 

Booker T. Washington then invited Carver to head the Tuskegee Institute’s Agriculture Department, where he found new uses for peanuts, sweet potatoes, soybeans and other crops. 

In the past, segregation would have barred Carver’s testimony before Congress, but white peanut farmers, desperate to convince lawmakers about the need for a tariff on peanuts because of cheap Chinese imports, believed Carver could captivate them — and captivate he did, detailing how the nut could be transformed into candy, milk, livestock feed, even ink. 

“I have just begun with the peanut,” he told lawmakers. 

Impressed, they passed the Fordney-McCumber Tariff of 1922. 

In addition to this work, Carver promoted racial harmony. From 1923 to 1933, he traveled to white Southern colleges for the Commission on Interracial Cooperation. Time magazine referred to him as a “Black Leonardo,” and he died in 1943. 

That same year, the George Washington Carver Monument complex, the first national park honoring a Black American, was founded in Joplin, Missouri.

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

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Legislative recap: 2025 tax cut battle has been joined

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2 days ago

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January 20, 2025

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mississippitoday.org – Geoff Pender – 2025-01-20 12:00:00

After relatively brief debate and questioning given its magnitude, the state House passed the first meaningful legislation of the new session: House Bill 1, a measure that would eliminate the state income tax, trim taxes on non-prepared food and raise sales and gasoline taxes.

It would mark a sea change in state tax structure, a shift from income to consumption taxation.

“We are at a place where we can finally tell the hard-working people of Mississippi we can eliminate the tax on work,” House Ways and Means Chairman Trey Lamar, HB1’s author, told his colleagues.

The measure passed the House 88-24. It gained some Democratic support in the supermajority Republican House, with nine Democrats voting in favor, 24 against and 12 voting present.

The proposal garnered some bipartisan support because it includes at least a couple of items Democratic lawmakers have championed in the past: A gasoline tax to help fix crumbling roadways, and a reduction in the “grocery” tax, or the sales tax levied on unprepared food, of which Mississippi has the highest overall rate in the nation.

It still met with some Democratic opposition in part because it is a sea change toward more “regressive” taxation. Proponents say this is just, people should pay more for state services they use, such as roadways, and for things they buy as opposed to taxing income. Opponents say this places a proportionately higher tax burden on people of modest means.

“I would say the people hurt the most with this would be working people who have to put gas in their car to go to work or those who have to purchase materials to do a job,” House Democratic Leader Robert Johnson said.

Beyond that concern, opponents or skeptics worry that the foundation of the proposed tax overhaul would be built on shifting sands — a state economy that has been so rosy primarily from the federal government dumping billions of dollars in pandemic spending into Mississippi. With the federal spigot being cut off, some worry, the state economy could slump, and the massive tax cuts in this new plan could provide a state budget crisis, of which Mississippi has much experience, and underfunding of crucial services such as schools, roads, health care and law enforcement.

The largest hurdle Republican House leaders face in seeing their tax plan through to law is not in garnering bipartisan support. It’s internecine disagreement with the Senate Republican leadership, which still appears to harbor abovementioned concerns about overhauling tax structure in uncertain economic times and betting on growth to cover massive tax cuts.

Senate leaders have said they want to enact more tax cuts, but their plan has not yet been released. Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann has provided some details of what he wants to see, but it would appear he wants a more cautious approach on cuts. He has not publicly opined on the tax increases in the House plan.

Quote of the Week

“Have you ever worn a belt and suspenders, lady? It’s a belt and suspenders approach.” — Rep. Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia, to Rep. Omeria Scott, D-Laurel, during floor debate on Lamar’s bill to eliminate the state income tax and raise other taxes.

“No. I have not worn a belt and suspenders. I don’t know anyone who has worn a belt and suspenders,” Scott replied.

In Brief

House will renew push to legalize mobile sports betting

House Gaming Committee Chairman Casey Eure, R-Saucier, told Mississippi Today he plans on taking another crack at legalizing mobile sports betting in the state. In 2024, the House and Senate passed versions of legislation to permit online sports betting, but never agreed on a final proposal. Some lawmakers raised concerns that gambling platforms would have no incentive to partner with smaller casinos, and most of the money would instead flow to the Mississippi Gulf Coast’s already bustling casinos. Proponents say legalization would undercut the influence of illicit offshore sports betting platforms.

“I’ve been working on this bill for many years and I’m just trying to satisfy any concerns that the Senate may have so we can pass this and start collecting the tax dollars that the state deserves and not allowing everyone to place bets with these offshore accounts,” Eure said. “I feel like the state is losing between $40-$80 million a year in tax revenue.”

Sports wagering has been permitted in the state for years, but online betting has remained illegal amid fears the move could harm the bottom line of the state’s brick-and-mortar casinos. Mobile sports betting is legal in 30 states and Washington, D.C.,  according to the American Gaming Association. — Michael Goldberg

Hosemann makes Senate committee chair changes

Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann last week named new chairmen of committees, after former state Sen. Jenifer Branning was sworn into office as a new justice on the Mississippi Supreme Court. 

Sen. Chuck Younger, a Republican from Columbus, previously led the Senate Agriculture Committee and will replace Branning as chairman of the Transportation Committee. Sen. Neil Whaley, a Republican from Potts Camp, previously led the Senate Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Committee, but will now lead the Senate Agriculture Committee. 

Here are the other changes to Senate committees: 

Sen. Ben Suber, a Republican from Bruce, will be the new chairman of the Senate Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Committee 

Sen. Bart Williams, a Republican from Starkville, is the new chairman of the Senate Public Property Committee

Sen. Scott DeLano, a Republican from Gulfport, will lead the Senate Technology Committee 

Sen. Robin Robinson, a Republican from Laurel, will chair the Senate Labor Committee 

Sen. Angela Turner Ford, a Democrat from West Point, will lead the Senate Drug Policy Committee.  — Taylor Vance

What’s in a name? Democratic Rep. Scott hopes GOP majority will pass ‘Donald J. Trump Act’ bills

Perhaps tired of seeing many measures she authors ignored or shot down in flames by the Republican supermajority in the Mississippi Legislature, Democratic Rep. Omeria Scott of Laurel is trying a new strategy: naming bills after Republican President-elect Trump.

For this session, Scott has authored: House Bill 61, the “Donald J. Trump Voting Rights Restoration Act;” House Bill 62, the “Donald J. Trump Ban-The-Box Act … to prohibit public employers from using criminal history as a bar to employment;” and House Bill 249, the “Donald J. Trump Early Voting Act.” — Geoff Pender

More bills filed to criminalize abortion

Since the 2022 Dobbs Supreme Court decision overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, Mississippi lawmakers have proposed bills to criminalize workarounds to the state’s strict abortion ban – including criminalizing the abortion pill and out-of-state abortions. The 2025 legislative session is no exception. 

Rep. William Tracy Arnold, R-Booneville, filed House Bill 616 that would make it a felony to manufacture or make accessible medication abortion. Anyone convicted of the crime would be subject to a fine between $1,000 and $5,000, as well as imprisonment between two and five years. Last year, about 250 Mississippians each month requested medication abortion from Aid Access, the only online telemedicine service supplying medication abortion via mail in the U.S. 

Helping a minor receive an abortion would also be criminalized under House Bill 148 filed by Rep. Mark Tullos, R-Raleigh. That would include transporting a minor out of state to undergo an abortion, as well as helping a minor procure a medication abortion – both of which would be punishable by not less than 20 years in prison or a fine of not less than $50,000. — Sophia Paffenroth

By the Numbers

$1.1 billion

The estimated net annual cost of the House plan to eliminate the state income tax and raise sales taxes, once fully phased in. Proponents say economic growth would allow the state budget, currently about $7 billion a year, to absorb the cut. Eliminating the income tax would cost the state $2.2 billion in revenue, but the House plan would raise about $1.1 billion in other taxes in offset.

0

The amount of income tax Mississippians would pay after a 10-year phased in elimination of the state income tax. With previous cuts being phased in, state income taxes next year will already be reduced to 4%, among the lowest rates in the nation.

8.5 %

The new Mississippi sales tax, up from current 7%, under the House tax plan assuming most local governments would not opt out of adding a new 1.5% local sales tax.

13 cents more a gallon

The cost of the House’s proposed new 5% gasoline tax, based on last week’s average cost of gasoline in Mississippi of $2.62. The new 5% tax would be on top of the flat 18.4 cents a gallon current state excise on gasoline.

4%

The tax on unprepared food once a reduction of the current 7% would be phased in over a decade under the House plan. The state would over time reduce its sales tax on such groceries to 2.5%, but local governments would add a 1.5% sales tax to such items unless they opt out.

Full Legislative Coverage

Lawmakers must pass new legislation to improve access to prenatal care

Lawmakers will file another bill this session to help low-income pregnant women get into the doctor earlier – after the federal government rejected the program set up under last year’s law, because of discrepancies between what was written into state law and federal regulations for presumptive Medicaid eligibility. Read the story.

Proposal: eliminate income tax, add 5% tax on gas, allow cities, counties to levy local sales tax

House leaders last week unveiled a sweeping tax cut proposal that would eventually abolish the state income tax, slash taxes on groceries, increase local sales taxes and shore up funds for state and local road work. Read the story.

A new Mississippi law aims to limit jailing people awaiting mental health treatment. Is it working?

Officials say a new law to decrease the number of people being jailed solely because they need mental health treatment has led to fewer people with serious mental illness detained in jails – but the data is contradictory and incomplete. Lawmakers plan legislation to make more counties report the data. Read the story.

How soon we forget: Mississippi House push for record tax cuts revives fear of repeat budget crises

Eight years ago, from a combination of dozens of tax cuts the Legislature approved and a slumping economy, the state saw a budget crisis that resulted in severely underfunded schools, government layoffs, a near halt to building new roads and highways and problems maintaining the ones we have, too few state troopers on the highways and cuts to most major state services. Read the story.

NAACP legislative redistricting proposal pits two pairs of senators against each other

The Mississippi chapter of the ACLU has submitted a proposal to the courts to redraw the state’s legislative districts that creates two new majority-Black Senate districts and pits two pairs of incumbent senators against one another. Read the story.

Legislation to send more public money to private schools appears stalled as lawmakers consider other changes

Some top lawmakers in Mississippi’s Republican-controlled Legislature are prepared to make it easier for students to transfer between public schools but remain skeptical of sending more public money to private schools. Read the story.

House passes $1.1 billion income tax elimination-gas and sales tax increase plan in bipartisan vote

A bill that phases out the state income tax, cuts the state grocery tax and raises sales taxes and gasoline taxes passed the House of Representatives with a bipartisan vote on Thursday. Read the story.

Tate Reeves and other top Mississippi Republicans owe thanks to President Joe Biden

The tremendous cash surpluses that some state Republicans cite when defending their plan to eliminate the state’s income tax would not exist if not for the billions of dollars in federal funds that have been pumped into the state during Biden’s presidential tenure. Read the story.

Podcast: Mississippi transportation director discusses proposed new gasoline tax

Mississippi Department of Transportation Director Brad White tells Mississippi Today’s Geoff Pender and Taylor Vance he’s staying “in his lane” and out of the politics of a House tax overhaul that would eliminate the income tax and raise sales and gasoline taxes, but that he’s pleased lawmakers are trying to address the long running need for a steady new stream of money to help cover highway maintenance needs. Listen to the podcast.

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

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