Georgia has the nation's only Medicaid work requirement. Mississippi could be next

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February 21st, 2024

Mississippi House Medicaid Committee Chairwoman Rep. Missy McGee, R-Hattiesburg, right, asks a question of the representatives from the Hilltop Institute, a nonpartisan research organization, unseen, who presented a brief on the economic impact of Medicaid expansion in Mississippi, to the committee, media and lobbyists at the state Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Tuesday, Feb 20, 2024. Committee member State Rep. Clay Mansell, R-Clinton, left, was among the legislators who attended the briefing. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

After years of refusing to expand Medicaid, some of Mississippi’s Republican leaders now say they are open to the policy — if they can require new enrollees to have a job. That approach could hinge on presidential politics and an ongoing legal battle in Georgia.

In a statement to The Associated Press, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said Mississippi must consider all options to improve its labor force participation rate and poor health outcomes, both of which are among the worst in the country. Hosemann said Georgia, the only state that requires Medicaid recipients to meet a work requirement, could be a model for Mississippi.

“We need healthy working Mississippians,” Hosemann said. “Georgia’s successful implementation of a work requirement cleared a path for this conversation in Mississippi.”

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