When it comes to extending Medicaid coverage for new mothers to a full year, the score among the most influential in Jackson is now two in favor, with one still opposed — though even that may be changing.
On Sunday, Gov. Tate Reeves sent out a statement saying that if the Mississippi Legislature sends him a bill extending postpartum Medicaid coverage to a year from the current two months, he will sign it.
Sundays are turning into a good day for advocates of extended assistance for new mothers. A week ago Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, who won the Dobbs case that overturned Roe v. Wade, supported 12-month care for mothers in a newspaper column. And this past weekend it was the governor’s turn.
To say the least, this is a surprising turnaround for Reeves, who has repeatedly said he opposed any type of Medicaid expansion. He joins the state Senate, which for the second straight year voted to support this extension.
In his statement, Reeves said he is not changing his mind on the issue because of data that says extended Medicaid coverage helps women. He said the issue is “often misconstrued and mischaracterized by the ‘more government benefits no matter the costs’ crowd.”
But Reeves got it right when he added this:
“However, the fact is we live in a Post-Dobbs world. We, as Mississippi conservatives, led the charge to end Roe vs. Wade and I couldn’t be more proud of that victory. That legal victory ensures that more babies will be born into this great state and this great country. I believe that to be a beautiful thing.
“I also believe that added stress will be felt by more Mississippi moms. We have to love them. We have to support them. And — in a post-Dobbs world — we may even have to be willing to do things that make us ‘philosophically uncomfortable.’
“I’m willing to do that as part of our new pro-life agenda. As I’ve said many times, it will not be easy and it will not be free. But it will be worth it, as more children of God are brought into the world!”
True enough, the governor somewhat undercuts his data skepticism when he says that more mothers will be stressed. Nobody should need data to confirm that caring for a newborn is a demanding assignment. Just in case, though, here's some data:
Mississippi’s pregnancy-related maternal mortality ratio is nearly twice the national average. We have the nation’s highest infant mortality rate, the highest birth rate before reaching the full term of 38 weeks and the lowest birthweight.
Given those sad numbers, how can extending Medicaid for new mothers hurt?
But the larger point is that the most prominent elected official in the state has finally accepted the idea that some new mothers will need more medical care.
Reeves’ critics are sure to say that he’s making this decision for political reasons. And there probably is some truth to that.
His opponent in November, Democrat Brandon Presley, is on record as supporting extended Medicaid coverage for new mothers. Some may have suspected the governor was betting that House Speaker Philip Gunn will hold fast to his opposition to the idea, meaning there will be no bill from the Legislature for him to sign. But in another surprise Tuesday, a House committee approved a Senate bill that extends Medicaid coverage for 12 months after birth.
Democrats were unimpressed. The minority leaders in the House and Senate released a statement of their own on Sunday calling Reeves’ decision “craven political theater.”
“The governor could extend postpartum Medicaid coverage right now, with his own signature, if he was truly moved to be the champion of Mississippi families he claims to be in today’s statement,” added the statement from Rep. Robert Johnson and Sen. Derrick Simmons.
That may be true. But it also appears that the House is about to get on board with extended maternal Medicaid. That is a sentence that no one would have written a week ago.
— Jack Ryan, McComb Enterprise-Journal
