Mississippi Ag chief: IVF bill will lead to ‘back door abortion, cloning’
Lawmakers in Mississippi are moving to protect in vitro fertilization, but state Agriculture Commissioner, Baptist preacher and outspoken anti-abortion advocate Andy Gipson is calling it “the greatest assault on the cause of life that we’ve seen in Mississippi in a long time.” Gipson, also an attorney and former longtime lawmaker, posted a video statement on […]
Gov. Tate Reeves allows prior authorization bill to become law without his signature
Republican Gov. Tate Reeves last week allowed a measure that regulates how insurance companies decide which prescription drugs and medical procedures to cover for a consumer to become law without his signature. Reeves wrote on social media that he allowed Senate Bill 2140 to become law because reform for the process, called prior authorization, is […]
Lawmakers advance bills to restrict jailing people awaiting mental health treatment
Two bills imposing strict limits on when people can be jailed without criminal charges while they await mental health treatment are headed to the House and Senate floors. Both measures would allow counties to jail people during civil commitment proceedings only if alternatives such as local hospitals and crisis stabilization units are unavailable, and would […]
Medicaid expansion bill inches forward in Senate with few details
Senate Republican leaders continue to keep any particulars of their Medicaid expansion plans close to the vest, with a committee passing only a shell of a bill Tuesday to meet a deadline and keep it alive. Meanwhile, a Medicaid expansion bill the House passed last week sits untouched in the Senate, and the two Republican-led […]
Some state politicians may be moving beyond name-calling in health care
Riding around curvy roads in northeast Mississippi campaigning for reelection in 2007, Republican Gov. Haley Barbour unveiled to a reporter his plan to create a state exchange where individuals and businesses could shop for health insurance at a lower rate. The federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed in 2010 had a feature strikingly […]
Lawmakers could limit when county officials in Mississippi can jail people awaiting psychiatric treatment
This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with Mississippi Today. Sign up for Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published. Key Mississippi lawmakers have introduced several bills that would drastically limit when people can be jailed without criminal charges as they await court-ordered psychiatric treatment. […]
Lawmakers could limit when county officials in Mississippi can jail people awaiting psychiatric treatment
This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with Mississippi Today. Sign up for Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published. Key Mississippi lawmakers have introduced several bills that would drastically limit when people can be jailed without criminal charges as they await court-ordered psychiatric treatment. […]
Bill to offer timely prenatal care in Mississippi sent to governor
Presumptive Medicaid eligibility for pregnant women passed overwhelmingly in the Senate on Thursday and now heads to the governor. House Bill 539, authored by House Medicaid Chairwoman Missy McGee, R-Hattiesburg, allows pregnant women whose net family income is 194% or less of the federal poverty level to be presumed eligible for Medicaid and receive care […]
Bill to offer timely prenatal care in Mississippi sent to governor
Presumptive Medicaid eligibility for pregnant women passed overwhelmingly in the Senate on Thursday and now heads to the governor. House Bill 539, authored by House Medicaid Chairwoman Missy McGee, R-Hattiesburg, allows pregnant women whose net family income is 194% or less of the federal poverty level to be presumed eligible for Medicaid and receive care […]
‘Moral imperative’: House overwhelmingly passes Mississippi Medicaid expansion
Medicaid expansion, which for more than a decade has been blocked by legislative leaders, passed the House Wednesday 98-20 in less than 15 minutes and now advances to the Senate. House Medicaid Chair Missy McGee, R-Hattiesburg, explained the policy as a “moral imperative” and said it “should transcend politics.” She also said that lawmakers have […]