• As of August 2024, approximately 642,000 Mississippians relied on Medicaid and CHIP for healthcare coverage.
• Although Mississippi has not yet adopted Medicaid expansion, discussions about its potential implementation are ongoing.
• More than half of births in Mississippi are covered by Medicaid.

Medicaid could face cuts as Congress looks to develop a new budget. The program benefits the elderly, children, people with disabilities and adults. Do you know what government health care spending looks like in your community? How many people in Mississippi depend on the program?

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a budget resolution that would extend President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and plans for $4.5 trillion in tax cuts over a decade.

Trump reportedly said he doesn’t want cuts to Medicare, which insures people 65 and older and those with disabilities.

Experts have expressed concern changes could be coming to programs like Medicaid, which insures about one in five Americans.

According to KFF, about 24% of the Mississippi population is covered by Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). In fiscal year 2022, Medicaid spending was $6.3 billion in the state, and the federal government paid 82.5% of costs.

Here’s what we know about how many people get health insurance from the government in Mississippi, including Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP and how the programs affect Mississippi families.

How many Mississippi residents get Medicare?

According to KFF, Mississippi had almost 637,000 Medicare beneficiaries in 2024. The federal health insurance program helps seniors 65 and older and adults with long-term disabilities. Most in Mississippi, 57.1% are enrolled in traditional Medicare, and about 43% are in Medicare Advantage.

Approximately 503,000 get Part D coverage, which limits prescription drug costs to $2,000 out of pocket. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 also caps insulin costs at $35 for Medicare recipients, starting in 2023.

How many people in Mississippi are on Medicaid and CHIP?

According to KFF, about 642,000 people in Mississippi got health care via Medicaid and CHIP as of August 2024.

By the numbers, that looks like:

• One in seven adults aged 19-64.
• One in two kids.
• Three in four nursing home residents.
• Two in seven Medicare recipients.
• Three in eight people with disabilities.

About 64% of non-elderly Medicaid enrollees in the state are non-white.

What about work requirements?

Some conservatives have suggested adding a work requirement to the federal program.

The move failed to gain enough traction in Trump’s last term, and opponents said the move fails to realize significant savings. They argue it adds to administrative costs while paperwork requirements trip up and strip benefits from qualified recipients.

Some states have implemented the plan.

Jennifer Tolbert, deputy director of the KFF program on Medicaid and the uninsured, told USA TODAY that Mississippi is among the states that have asked the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for the OK to launch a Medicaid work program.

More than half of adult Medicaid recipients in Mississippi — 62% — are working, per KFF. Forty percent of the state is defined as low income, and about 15.2% of adults in Mississippi reported having medical debt, almost twice the national average of 8.6%.

Where does Medicaid spending in Mississippi go?

According to KFF, adults and children make up 65% of the state’s Medicaid enrollment and account for 34% of spending. Elderly people and those with disabilities make up 35% of Mississippi enrollment but account for 66% of expenditures.

The main Medicaid spending in Mississippi goes to:

• Managed care: 43%.
• Long-term care: 28%.
• Acute care: 20%
• Medicare payments: 6%.
• Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments: 4%.

More: Mississippi gets more federal funds than it pays in taxes. Here’s what that money gets you

Health Insurance: Who’s covered and who’s not

Did Mississippi adopt Medicaid expansion?

No. Forty states and the District of Columbia have adopted and implemented the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion, but Mississippi is not one of them.

The measure died last year in the Mississippi Legislature, despite work to expand healthcare to about 200,00 of the state’s working poor. The likelihood that Medicaid expansion might pass in 2025 currently looks slim.

Expansion allows adults with income up to 138% of the poverty line to get coverage.

According to KFF, the state currently pays 23 cents of each dollar spent on Medicaid, with the federal government booting 77% of costs.

The state, KFF said, would drop its share to 10 cents of every dollar spent if it adopts the expansion and potentially see $400 million in two years in American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) funds.

The future of the expansion, however, is unclear amid current federal budget talks.

Leadership in the Mississippi Legislature has reportedly agreed to keep “dummy bills” alive in the House and Senate while the issue is debated by the GOP-led Congress and in the White House.

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Medicare vs. Medicaid: Key differences in the government-run programs

Medicare and Medicaid both are government-run health insurance programs but there are several key differences between the two.

How does Medicaid affect families?

More than half of births in the state, 57%, are covered by Medicaid, and Mississippi is part of the 12-month postpartum coverage extension.

About 20% of women aged 15-49 in Mississippi are insured through Medicaid.

Parents must have an income less than 27% of the federal poverty level to keep Medicaid after pregnancy coverage ends in Mississippi. (That amount is set by the Department of Health and Human Services and depends on the number of people in the home.)

Last year, a report from the Commonwealth Fund, a nonpartisan foundation focused on health care policy, ranked Mississippi last in women’s health and reproductive care. The state scored low overall because of lack of access to care — particularly in the Delta area — a statewide abortion ban and the lack of Medicaid expansion.

Mississippi’s infant mortality rate per 100,000 people is also high at 9.1, compared to 5.6 for the U.S.

Contributing: Pam Dankins, Grant McLaughlin, Sudiksha Kochi, Savannah Kuchar, Ken Alltucker, Riley Beggin

Bonnie Bolden is the Deep South Connect reporter for Mississippi with Gannett/USA Today. Email her at bbolden@gannett.com.