WJTV – Additional bridges in Mississippi added to list of closures
SUNHERALD – Mississippi’s Medicaid work requirement would cause 20,000 parents to lose coverage
An estimated 20,000 poor parents in Mississippi would lose health coverage over five years under a state proposal to require Medicaid recipients to work for their benefits, researchers at Georgetown University reported Tuesday.
Childless adults aren’t eligible for coverage under Medicaid in Mississippi, where children, seniors, low-income parents and the blind and disabled make up the bulk of program recipients.
Mississippi has asked the Trump administration for permission to require at least 20 hours per week of work or approved work activities in order to retain coverage under Medicaid, the state/federal health plan for low-income and disabled Americans.
Mississippi’s income cutoff to qualify for Medicaid coverage is one of the nation’s lowest at 27 percent of the federal poverty level – about $5,610 annually for a family of three, the report said.
Senate GOP shares video of Sen. Hyde-Smith’s swearing In
https://www.facebook.com/SenateGOP/videos/10156177585149360/
Health Insurance Policy Relief for Mississippians Extended by Federal Government
Commissioner of Insurance Mike Chaney announced today that the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has once again granted permission to extend transitional relief for insureds living in Mississippi.
“This action by HHS will help us continue bringing stability to the health insurance market and keep rates affordable for small business and individuals in Mississippi. Without it, over 95,000 Mississippians could join the ranks of the uninsured,” Chaney said.
In 2013, HHS allowed individuals and small groups to maintain certain “Grandmothered” insurance plans, also known as Transitional Plans. These are plans that were purchased after the enactment of the Affordable Care Act and before October 1, 2013, that were not required to comply with certain ACA reforms. Transitional relief was originally set to expire at the end of 2017, and last year HHS granted an extension through 2018. This latest extension goes through December 31, 2019.
Commissioner Chaney expressed gratitude to Senator Roger Wicker and the staff of Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith for their assistance in obtaining the extension of transitional relief. The Commissioner and the MID has worked since early 2016 to seek the extension of the transitional relief policy for Mississippians. These individuals would have seen an average rate increase of more than 75 percent had the policy been allowed to expire.
MBJ – SPENCER RITCHIE: Political contributions: Know your limits
Most people think of political contributions as donations of money. While this is the most common way of contributing, anything of value given to influence a federal or state election is considered a contribution. For example, the donation of office space, furniture, or supplies is considered an in-kind contribution, and the value of donated items is counted against donors’ applicable contribution limits.
Finally, contributions that exceed $200 are made public via campaign finance reports regularly filed by all candidates and committees. Federal candidates file these reports with the Federal Election Commission while state candidates file them with the Mississippi Secretary of State, and the reports can be accessed on the websites of both agencies.
CLARION LEDGER – Sid Salter: Election offers Mississippi Dems a shot at the Alabama Senate ‘miracle’
Mississippi Democrats are hoping for a repeat of the political “miracle” that handed their counterparts in Alabama a U.S. Senate seat last December…
…Those factors noted, the likelihood of the Alabama “miracle” replicating in Mississippi is slight but not impossible. Proponents of open primaries should love this special election free-for-all.
MBJ – Threat and reality of tariffs not yet a factor in Mississippi
The United States and China are in a standoff on agricultural trade, with the communist nation threatening to impose a 25 percent tariff on U.S. soybeans and other crops.
“I think there is some hope that [the sides in] this standoff will back down,” said Dr. Keith Coble, head of the agricultural economics department at Mississippi State University…
…Jay Moon, president and chief executive of the Mississippi Manufacturers Association said in an interview that the U.S. is not entering a trade war, but rather is taking a “course correction.”
The United States’ trade imbalance with China reached a record $375.2 billion last year, according to the Commerce Department.
“Now we have to rebalance that,” Moon said. “I think that’s what the president is doing.”
Chris McDaniel promoter Keith Plunkett calls Gov. Bryant “a cowering political mutt”
WLOX – Coast Superintendent calls for standardized test change
Pascagoula Gautier Schools Superintendent Wayne Rodolfich thinks there’s a better option.
Rodolfich believes there’s one exam that does the best job of assessing students, and it’s one many of them are already taking; the ACT.
“It is the most comprehensive test that we could give in the shortest period of time. It’s an economy of time issue, and it would just be a great diagnostic for the state to use as opposed to all these state tests that we’re getting,” said Rodolfich.
Magnolia Tribune
