Thread by @ashtonpittman

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."
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“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."
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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."
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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.”
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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.
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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.
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54% of Mississippi's RURAL* hospitals, this tweet should say

LATEST: Despite warnings that 54% of rural Mississippi hospitals are in danger of closing, Gov. Tate Reeves cautioned lawmakers against using state funds to save them.

"Keeping inefficient systems is not a good answer,” he told @KayodeCrown.
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Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn reiterated to @KayodeCrown that he is "not in favor of Medicaid expansion," even though Mississippi's top medical leaders say it could save dozens of ailing rural hospitals.
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Still, Speaker Gunn said he's reviewing the so-called "Arkansas model" to see if it is “a viable solution,” while reiterating that he opposes "Medicaid expansion."

But the "Arkansas model" is a version of Medicaid expansion that includes work requirements.mississippifreepress.org/30116/crisis-m…

Important point: A lot of times when we talk about "rural hospitals" and "rural voters," people assume you're referring to white people (such as in the midwest).

But in Mississippi, "rural" very often means Black (such as the majority Black rural Delta).
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Correction: This story originally said the "Arkansas model" includes work requirements. A federal court struck down those work requirements in 2020.

Thanks for catching that, @jallen1985.
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