Ashton PittmanJan 4, 2023

NEW: With 54% of Mississippi's hospitals in danger of closing, medical leaders warned state lawmakers of a "looming disaster" unless they expand Medicaid.

Gov. Tate Reeves and House Speaker Gunn have long opposed what Reeves calls "Obamacare expansion."
https://www.mississippifreepress.org/30094/mississippi-health-care-faces-looming-disaster-medical-group-warns-lawmakers

Mississippi Health Care Faces ‘Looming Disaster,’ MSMA Tells Lawmakers

Health-care professionals have said that Mississippi's refusal to expand Medicaid has contributed significantly to hospital closures.

Mississippi Free Press
Show threadAshton PittmanJan 4, 2023
“The lack of access to healthcare for many Mississippians is currently a crisis, not a new crisis, but one that has been fermenting... As hospitals close across Mississippi, access to life-saving medical care becomes a real threat to all Mississippi."
https://www.mississippifreepress.org/30094/mississippi-health-care-faces-looming-disaster-medical-group-warns-lawmakers
Mississippi Health Care Faces ‘Looming Disaster,’ MSMA Tells Lawmakers

Health-care professionals have said that Mississippi's refusal to expand Medicaid has contributed significantly to hospital closures.

Mississippi Free Press
Show threadAshton PittmanJan 4, 2023
MSMA: “There is a sizable gap that exists for working Mississippians who cannot afford private insurance, yet whose income is too much to qualify for Mississippi Medicaid. ... [H]ospitals are required to treat them regardless of their inability to pay."
https://www.mississippifreepress.org/30094/mississippi-health-care-faces-looming-disaster-medical-group-warns-lawmakers
Mississippi Health Care Faces ‘Looming Disaster,’ MSMA Tells Lawmakers

Health-care professionals have said that Mississippi's refusal to expand Medicaid has contributed significantly to hospital closures.

Mississippi Free Press
Show threadAshton PittmanJan 4, 2023
MSMA: "And because these individuals are uninsured, the hospital is not compensated for necessary care. Such an economical strain on hospitals is not one that even the most successful private business could not endure.”
https://www.mississippifreepress.org/30094/mississippi-health-care-faces-looming-disaster-medical-group-warns-lawmakers
Mississippi Health Care Faces ‘Looming Disaster,’ MSMA Tells Lawmakers

Health-care professionals have said that Mississippi's refusal to expand Medicaid has contributed significantly to hospital closures.

Mississippi Free Press
Show threadAshton PittmanJan 4, 2023
Since 2013, Mississippi’s Republican leaders have rejected more than $10 billion from the federal government that could have been used to expand Medicaid, even with the federal government offering to cover between 90% and 100% of the cost.
https://www.mississippifreepress.org/30094/mississippi-health-care-faces-looming-disaster-medical-group-warns-lawmakers
Mississippi Health Care Faces ‘Looming Disaster,’ MSMA Tells Lawmakers

Health-care professionals have said that Mississippi's refusal to expand Medicaid has contributed significantly to hospital closures.

Mississippi Free Press
Show threadAshton PittmanJan 4, 2023
The 12 Republican-led states that refused to expand Medicaid accounted for 74% of all rural hospital closures between 2010 and 2021, an American Hospital Association report found last year.
https://www.mississippifreepress.org/30094/mississippi-health-care-faces-looming-disaster-medical-group-warns-lawmakers
Mississippi Health Care Faces ‘Looming Disaster,’ MSMA Tells Lawmakers

Health-care professionals have said that Mississippi's refusal to expand Medicaid has contributed significantly to hospital closures.

Mississippi Free Press
Show threadKay DubJan 4, 2023
@ashton Of course we did! All about the rural Republican except when it comes to health and welfare. It’s always sad when people willingly vote against their own interests. 😟
Show threadZhi Zhu 🕸️

@kaydubatl @ashton

People do NOT vote against their interests. Some people are just more interested in being selfish hateful bigots than in getting access to healthcare, a decent wage or good governance.

Some people are more interested in hurting others than in helping themselves.

Jan 4, 2023 at 5:36amWeb
Show threadKay DubJan 4, 2023

@ZhiZhu @ashton I didn’t say people voted against all of their interests - which ones an individual find most critical at the moment, based on their highest values, principles, and information they know, are what matters to most voters.

It is absolutely in a rural person’s best health interest to not have the hospital nearest them close - the next one could be hours away and cost them or loved ones their lives. Doesn’t mean they’ll vote for that and that’s sad to me.

Show threadKay DubJan 4, 2023

@ZhiZhu @ashton People are complex and what’s important one moment can not be the next moment. Or some may not understand or be aware of the impact of what one set of policies may mean for other things they care about. People vote against their own interests - both knowingly and unknowingly all the time.

It’s not a judgement at all, but as I described, sad. Cause who wants someone’s life directly and very negatively affected? We’ve all likely done it to some degree.