Miss. leaves Medicaid in limbo as House vote fails

Democrats hold out for expansion

JACKSON — House Republicans failed to round up enough votes Monday to reauthorize Medicaid for the new fiscal year, leaving the fate of the federal-state health care program up in the air

House members rejected Medicaid funding by a vote of 57-50, three votes short of the 60 needed to keep Medicaid legislation alive in the legislative session that’s due to end on Sunday.

That means Mississippi will have no Medicaid program after the 2013 fiscal year ends on June 30 unless Republican leaders can find a way to reauthorize the program and appease Democrats who want to expand it.

Republicans are largely in accord on keeping Medicaid intact and not expanding it to add 300,000 mostly working-poor Mississippians, as allowed under the federal Affordable Care Act.

Democrats want to expand Medicaid to add working poor to the program, which primarily covers the needy and disabled.

Gov. Phil Bryant likely will call a special legislative session, probably in June, to put the matter to rest.

Bryant has said he opposes Medicaid expansion, which would be paid for fully with federal money for the first two years.

After that, the state’s share would rise up to 10 percent.

Bryant said the state still would have to pay millions of dollars in administrative expenses even when the feds pay the full cost of Medicaid.

Bryant and House Speaker Philip Gunn, R- Clinton, criticized Democrats for rejecting the traditional Medicaid funding legislation on Sunday and again on Monday, killing it for the session.

“Democrats are playing a political game with the lives of the 641,194 children, pregnant women, and aged, blind, and disabled adults currently receiving medical services through Medicaid,” Bryant said in a statement issued minutes after Monday’s House vote.

“These individuals will no longer have health coverage because Democrats are choosing political posturing to expand Obamacare over funding services for Medicaid recipients. Let the record reflect that Democrats in the Mississippi House have voted twice to withdraw funding and services for Mississippi’s nursing homes, hospitals and other vital programs.”

Following Monday’s vote, Gunn said a special session appears to be the only way to resolve the Medicaid issue.

“If something’s going to be done, that’s probably how it’s going to be done,” he said.

Gunn said Democrats have defeated Medicaid funding twice, and it’s time to move on to other pressing legislative matters.

House Democratic leader Bobby Moak said Democrats killed the Medicaid bill because it had no language allowing the program’s expansion.

“We want to continue the discussion about Medicaid expansion,” Moak said.

“Now, it’s clearly in the governor’s court. If the governor wants to call a special session, we can all sit down and talk as adults and discuss it.

“If not, then the 700,000 people under Medicaid now and the 300,000 from expansion are at his door.”