State Rep.: Here is how Medicaid expansion can make Mississippi healthier and safer
Let’s talk about what does and does not make Mississippians safer. In Mississippi, we know that long prison sentences do not increase public safety.
In fact, longer sentences increase the cost of incarceration, which drives increases in taxes for taxpayers. We also know that barriers to reentry for formerly incarcerated individuals are a major driving force for their low participation rate in our local workforce. People with criminal convictions are less likely to get a callback or job offer, making it difficult to obtain stable employment.
Increasing workforce participation from all sources is imperative to achieve sustainable growth and development which will in turn create a safer and more empowered Mississippi.
Disparities in healthcare increase the incidence of chronic health conditions and the prevalence of adverse health outcomes which in turn increases the morbidity and mortality of Mississippians.
Insufficient access to preventative medical and dental services, mental health services, and quality and affordable healthcare is a major factor that prevents our state from achieving health equity. If we are serious about prioritizing public safety, we must safely reduce our prison population, grow our workforce, and ensure more Mississippians have access to essential medical, dental, and mental health services.
For more than a decade, Mississippi leaders have been working to expand Medicaid to offer healthcare coverage to more working families across the state. Being able to access quality and affordable healthcare is an essential way to keep our families healthy, our communities strong, and our state thriving.
What most people don’t know is that public safety and expanded healthcare coverage go hand in hand. While there is more work to be done to increase public safety — namely, continuing the urgent work to safely reduce our state’s dangerously high prison population and bolstering our workforce — for the first time ever, we have the opportunity to pass a bill that will expand Medicaid coverage and improve health and public safety outcomes for all. For this reason, House Bill 1725 must be signed into law this legislative session.
So how does Medicaid expansion advance public safety? We have decades of reesearch that show that long-ignored social services, including investments in healthcare and mental health treatments, are an incredibly effective way to reduce crime and violence.
Expanding Medicaid increases access to behavioral healthcare, which is a critical investment for individuals struggling with their mental health. Other states that have implemented Medicaid expansion have seen arrest rates drop between 20-32% within three years.
Medicaid expansion could help us continue to combat the opioid crisis in our state; opioid-related deaths were higher in states that didn’t expand Medicaid. These striking figures highlight just a few reasons why it is vital to expand coverage in Mississippi. This expansion can help keep our communities both safer and healthier. Medicaid expansion is not a political talking point; it is a commonsense policy to ensure more of our neighbors have access to preventative and fundamental healthcare services as well as life-saving resources.
House Bill 1725, which passed with overwhelming support from Democrat and Republican lawmakers in both the House and the Senate, is not just good policy; it’s the right thing to do for our constituents.
With this proposal, Medicaid expansion has the potential to cover up to 200,000 Mississippians who should have access to healthcare coverage. Most individuals who would benefit from expanded coverage are working Mississippians who cannot afford private health insurance and make less than $20,120 per year. By providing healthcare coverage through Medicaid expansion, we also have the opportunity to create economic empowerment by improving our state’s labor force participation rate which is currently the lowest in the U.S.
We are facing a historic opportunity to make Mississippi a healthier and safer place to live and work. We must not let this moment slip away. By expanding Medicaid coverage, we have the chance to invest in ourselves and our communities to create a better and brighter future for all Mississippians.
I urge my colleagues to continue to prioritize this critical legislation throughout upcoming discussions and meetings so that House Bill 1725, which will support our neighbors across the state, will become law.
— State Rep. Christopher M. Bell is chair of the Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Medicaid expansion can make Mississippi healthier and safer, Chris Bell
