Mississippi House sets aside $4.8 million for clinics serving low income patients

Mississippi House moves forward with money for clinics with care for low income patients

The Republican-led Mississippi House voted Monday to give $4.8 million of state money to health clinics that provide primary care for low-income patients, but Democrats criticized the proposal as a minuscule effort compared to the federal dollars Mississippi could collect by expanding Medicaid.

House Bill 413 is supported by Republican Gov. Phil Bryant. It goes to the Senate, where prospects are uncertain.

Medicaid expansion is an option under the health overhaul that President Barack Obama signed into law. Bryant and other top Republicans say they oppose putting more people on the federal-state health insurance program because they don’t trust promises of federal funding and they don’t want to increase people’s dependence on government programs.

Gulflive
2/10/14