JACKSON, Miss. – There’s some good news for Mississippi and the nation in terms of getting health coverage for more children.
About 8700 more kids have health insurance in Mississippi today than in 2010, according to a new report from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. Nationally, it says more kids are insured because many states are doing a better job of reaching out to lower-income families.
Joan Alker, executive director at Georgetown CCF, noted some also have expanded their Medicaid programs to cover more adults.
“When you cover parents and offer eligibility to them, the children themselves are more likely to be enrolled, as parents learn about whole-family coverage being available,” Alker explained. “When parents don’t have to worry about unpaid medical bills, the whole family is more financially secure.”
The report says about 45 percent of all uninsured children live in the Southern states. A poll released with the report found that 88 percent of Americans believe all children in their state should have health insurance.
Mississippi is still a holdout on Medicaid expansion. Gov. Phil Bryant has claimed the state wouldn’t be able to afford the administrative costs, even if the federal government picks up most of the tab.
Southern Regional Director for the Children’s Defense Fund Oleta Fitzgerald noted while the governor’s position has been discouraging, her group and other advocates for families are convinced they’re making progress.
“You get up every day because you know what would happen if you didn’t,” said Fitzgerald. “It is not always about winning – sometimes, it’s about holding the line and not going backwards; and make as many advances as you can. And now, you see from this report that it works.”
Fitzgerald added the seven percent of children and 25 percent of adults who remain uninsured in Mississippi are generally in working families, with incomes that fall between the current Medicaid eligibility limits and what the new limits would be if the program was expanded.
“It’s a sizable gap, and it is a gap where there’s more health care needs – the needs are greater, the access is more limited,” she said. “People work at jobs that are more difficult than many other jobs and in fact, impact their health care.”
She said the Mississippi Legislature will see another push for Medicaid expansion next year.
