cial than if you encourage the private sector to grow,” Thigpen said. Sivak has heard that argument before. “The reality is if you look in Mississippi over the last 10 years, there’s fewer businesses that are offering employer-sponsored health insurance,” Sivak said. “If you looked at the insurance that was provided in 2000, roughly 60 percent was provided through an employer. That number is now down around 51 or 52 percent.” There’s also a case to be made for Mississippi’s economic competitiveness. Arkansas, led by Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe, has said it will expand. Tennessee, which has a Republican governor, has not announced whether it will expand or not. “If the workforce outlook in our surrounding states is more positive because a significantly higher percentage Ed Sivak, executive director of the Mississippi Economic Policy Center, said the Legislature should of the population is insured, view Medicaid expansion like other economicthat puts us at a disadvantage development projects: as an investment. when trying to attract industry,” Sivak said. stamps, it gets that dollar plus 73 cents in The economics of health-care expaneconomic activity in return, almost doubling sion could make it irresistible to even the its investment. most fiscally conservative lawmakers. A Rep. Cecil Brown, a Jackson Democrat, growing chorus of civic and business groups sits on the House Medicaid Committee and who support expansion could provide Rebelieves the expansion would benefit work- publicans the political cover they need to ing people in Mississippi. pass an expansion. “We’re talking about people who work Specifically, the newly formed Missis40 (to) 50 hours a week whose employ- sippi Health Care Access coalition plans to ers don’t provide health insurance,” Brown press the Legislature to expand Medicaid. said, adding that any Medicaid expansion Coalition members include Mississippi bill would contain a provision to require chapters of the American Lung Associathe Legislature to reconsider the legislation, tion, American Heart Association, American probably in three years when the federal Cancer Society Cancer Action Network and government’s 100 percent coverage for the AARP as well as Partnership for a Healthy expansion decreases. Mississippi, Catholic Charities, Mississippi Like Sivak, Brown also believes that Religious Leadership Conference, MissisMedicaid-fueled health-care expansion sippi Human Services Coalition, Mississippi could be analogous to other economic de- Health Advocacy Program, Mississippi Cenvelopment projects the state has pursued in ter for Justice, Mississippi Economic Policy recent years. Center, Mississippi State Conference of the “If a company came in and said, NAACP, Southern Echo and the Children’s ‘We’ll create 9,000 jobs and offer health Defense Fund’s southern regional office. care to your people for $300 each, we’d be It’s important to remember that a all over it,’” Brown said. “That’s why no similar assemblage of business and law-enorganized group is against this. There are forcement officials complained about the some politicians who are against it. We costs of implementing an immigration bill think they’re wrong.” last year and was one of the reasons for the bill’s defeat. Power Plays “I think before its all said and done, The hard-line view Bryant holds we’re going to see a lot of ruby-red Republiagainst Medicaid expansion are rooted in cans who, despite their misgivings about the conservative ideals espoused by groups such Affordable Care Act, see it as something that as the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, could advance this state,” Jones said. a conservative-leaning think tank based in “They might do it holding their nose, Jackson. Forest Thigpen leads the MCPP, they might do it with a little bit of political which opposes Medicaid expansion, citing rhetoric mixed in there, but at the end of the the long-term costs. day, the deal is too good for them to pass up “The government has nothing to give on for political reasons.” except what it takes from others, so it’s a myComment at jfp.ms. Email R.L. Nave opic view that taxing people is more benefi- at rlnave@jacksonfreepress.com.
MORE THAN A FACE THECROWD CROWD FACEIN IN THE
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spurs economic growth, according to a 2009 MEPC analysis that examines the multiplier effects of various government stimulus programs and found that for every $1 increase in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, real gross domestic product increases by $1.73. In other words, for every dollar the government spends on food
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