Republican gubernatorial candidate Robert Foster speaks with the Clarion Ledger about health care, Medicaid in Mississippi.
Barbara Gauntt, Clarion-Ledger
The Clarion Ledger recently met with major candidates for governor on multiple issues, including Medicaid and health care. Each candidate was asked about the same issues. (Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves has agreed to an interview later this month, and will be included in the series then.)
Republican gubernatorial candidate Robert Foster said he supports a version of Medicaid expansion in Mississippi where participants would pay a monthly fee to receive coverage.
“There’s really just not any other option for us,” the state representative from DeSoto County said in an interview with the Clarion Ledger. “We cannot continue to operate as we’re operating, or we’re going to have hospital, after hospital, after hospital close.”
Foster, 36, said he likes the appearance of a recent coverage expansion proposal from the Mississippi Hospital Association. The plan could extend coverage to about 300,000 low-income Mississippians. It would be paid for with with federal funds, user fees, and contributions from hospitals, not state taxpayers.
The Affordable Care Act allowed states to cover more residents under Medicaid starting five years ago. But the law, pushed by President Barack Obama, remains unpopular among many Republicans, and Mississippi is one of 14 states that have declined to accept billions of dollars of federal money for expansion.
A frequent concern centers around whether Mississippi can afford to cover its share of expansion costs. But without expansion, many Mississippians are going without health insurance, and hospitals are forced to cover more uncompensated costs. This has put many rural hospitals in financial peril.
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Foster cited Indiana and Arkansas as “innovative” models Mississippi could follow to provide more coverage to its poor residents, and put hospitals on more stable footing.
“I don’t think the state needs to pay anything (to expand),” Foster said. “I think the (people eligible for coverage) are fully capable and willing to do so. They have jobs. These are working people. That’s why they are not able to get on traditional Medicaid. Most of them are willing to help pitch in. They don’t want a hand-out. If they did they would just quit working, or stop working as much.”
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Contact Luke Ramseth at 601-961-7050 or lramseth@gannett.com. Follow @lramseth on Twitter.
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