After yesterday’s first public conference committee meeting. Both sides say they have made progress on reaching a deal. But there is growing concern whether both the House and Senate are still too far apart, with too little time to work out a deal.The House and Senate have picked three members each to try and find a compromise on Medicaid expansion. But it remains an uphill fight with house members like Gene Newman just hoping a deal can be worked out.”I think it would have been beneficial to people in my district I have a lot of people that are low-income workers, they work 2 and 3 jobs to make a living,” Newman said.”The idea of a conference committee is to work out our differences and come out with a product we can both support,” said Missy McGee, Medicaid Committee Chairperson. Missy McGee is the Medicaid chairperson in the house whose plan is to bring in some 200 thousand working poor Mississippians under the state umbrella and capture millions in matching federal dollars. She says the house is willing to compromise and not cover as many working poor in an expansion but she says she doesn’t want to walk away from the feds offering millions of dollars in matching money. The Senate Medicaid chairman, Geoffrey Blackwell, seemed to be drawing a line in the sand that the senate would not be willing to move far off a plan that might cover just 40-thousand people. But require they prove to work 30 hours a week.Senator Brice Wiggins is on the senate conference committee and insists there is wiggle room but not eagerness to move people who are currently paying for their health insurance. He says those people who are paying for their coverage through the federal healthcare exchange are better off.
After yesterday’s first public conference committee meeting. Both sides say they have made progress on reaching a deal.
But there is growing concern whether both the House and Senate are still too far apart, with too little time to work out a deal.
The House and Senate have picked three members each to try and find a compromise on Medicaid expansion. But it remains an uphill fight with house members like Gene Newman just hoping a deal can be worked out.
“I think it would have been beneficial to people in my district I have a lot of people that are low-income workers, they work 2 and 3 jobs to make a living,” Newman said.
“The idea of a conference committee is to work out our differences and come out with a product we can both support,” said Missy McGee, Medicaid Committee Chairperson.
Missy McGee is the Medicaid chairperson in the house whose plan is to bring in some 200 thousand working poor Mississippians under the state umbrella and capture millions in matching federal dollars.
She says the house is willing to compromise and not cover as many working poor in an expansion but she says she doesn’t want to walk away from the feds offering millions of dollars in matching money.
The Senate Medicaid chairman, Geoffrey Blackwell, seemed to be drawing a line in the sand that the senate would not be willing to move far off a plan that might cover just 40-thousand people. But require they prove to work 30 hours a week.
Senator Brice Wiggins is on the senate conference committee and insists there is wiggle room but not eagerness to move people who are currently paying for their health insurance. He says those people who are paying for their coverage through the federal healthcare exchange are better off.
