Lawmakers approved a roughly $200 million increase in Medicaid’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year, delivering about half of what the agency requested.
State legislators have also advanced a measure to give the agency a $35 million deficit appropriation to cover a shortfall for the current fiscal year. Senate Appropriations Chairman Briggs Hopson, a Republican from Vicksburg, warned Sunday of a “very real possibility” there could be a deficit appropriation next year, too.
The steep increase in state spending for Medicaid has squeezed other parts of the state’s $7.36 billion total budget, including an overdue teacher pay raise and spending for child care, lawmakers said.
“We’ve got a massive Medicaid issue that we’re addressing, and the funds are not there,” said House Appropriations Chairman Clay Deweese, a Republican from Oxford, on the House floor Sunday in a response to a question about why $15 million for desperately needed child care vouchers was removed from an appropriations bill.
Lawmakers proposed $1.17 billion in state spending on Medicaid, but that amount is roughly $190 million less than the agency’s January budget request. It also falls about $29 million short of Gov. Tate Reeves’ recommendation for the agency. The appropriation bill will next go to Reeves’ desk for consideration.
Lawmakers this session were stunned by the agency’s request for a nearly $390-million increase in state funding over the current year, even as the program’s enrollment dropped to the lowest level in over a decade. They were also baffled by a roughly $160-million discrepancy between the agency’s request and a November budget proposal from Reeves, whose office oversees tMedicaid.
The sharp increase in the budget request for Medicaid, which accounts for roughly a tenth of the state’s spending and administers health coverage to nearly 700,000 children and low-income pregnant, disabled and elderly Mississippians, was the result of a reserve of federal pandemic relief dollars running out, according to agency leaders.
During the pandemic, the federal government provided an enhanced match for state Medicaid funding in exchange for states keeping individuals enrolled during the emergency. As a result, Medicaid’s cash reserve soared to $682 million in 2023, according to agency budget documents.
In recent years, state lawmakers granted Medicaid small funding increases as the agency relied on the leftover COVID-19 pandemic funds to balance its growing budget. But with the surplus exhausted during this fiscal year, agency officials say a significant boost in state appropriations is necessary to maintain services.
To allow the agency to continue providing the same services, lawmakers recommended an additional $120 million from the state’s general fund compared to last year. Of that amount, lawmakers said $20 million is meant to offset reduced funding from the Health Care Expendable Fund. This money was taken from tobacco settlement funds and is now dwindling, according to lawmakers.
Lawmakers also opted to set aside $100 million for Medicaid from the state’s capital expense fund, a reserve intended for funding one-time expenses such as repairs and renovations of state-owned properties.
Hopson said he hopes the state will only need to use capital expense dollars to fund the agency this year, but Medicaid’s budget is difficult to predict.
“I’ve been doing this long enough where I wait every year to see how things look, and while I try to predict based on market trends, based on things that are going on in our state, I never know exactly,” Hopson said.
The proposed funding reaches the level agreed upon by the Division of Medicaid and the governor to allow the agency to continue operating at its current level, but that could require the agency to freeze some reimbursement rates, Hopson told lawmakers Sunday.
Responding to Mississippi Today, Hopson said he did not know whether or not the agency would be forced to freeze or cut provider rates due to the amount at the current budget rate.
“That’s not clear yet. That’s going to be for the Division of Medicaid to handle,” said Hopson, who added that he trusts Medicaid and Reeves’ office to look into it and make a decision carefully.
Mississippi Medicaid Director Cindy Bradshaw warned some stakeholders during an earlier stage in the budget process that the agency could lower its provider payments by as much as 11% without an increase in the agency’s budget.
Matt Westerfield, a spokesperson for the Division of Medicaid, did not respond to Mississippi Today’s questions about whether the agency is considering freezing or cutting provider rates at proposed budget level.
Hopson told fellow senators an expected increase in the proportion of Medicaid funded by the federal government could improve the agency’s budget outlook for the coming year.
Mississippi’s federal match rate, which is the highest in the country, will rise by less than half of a percentage point to 77.32% for the coming fiscal year. The federal match rate is calculated using a formula that accounts for the average per-capita income for each state relative to the national average.
As the House and Senate worked their way through appropriations bills Sunday, legislators warned the same challenges could resurface next year if efforts are not made to reduce Medicaid spending.
“I’m going to come back up here and tell you, if the good Lord gives me the strength,” Rep. Omeria Scott, a Democrat from Laurel, said Sunday. “Next year, you’re going to be in the same boat.”
Deweese said the Legislature will call a study committee on Medicaid’s budget this summer to continue to further examine the agency’s rising costs.
Hence then, the article about legislators move to fund medicaid at about half its initial request for a budget increase was published today ( ) and is available on Mississippi Today ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Legislators move to fund Medicaid at about half its initial request for a budget increase )
Also on site :
- Hezbollah Denies Bahraini Interior Ministry& 039;s Baseless Allegations
- Sabrina Carpenter, Bad Bunny, Taylor Swift & More Nominated for 2026 Webby Awards
- The 5 TV Premieres We're Most Excited for in April 2026