The following is a statement from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society® (LLS) in reaction to the conference report released late Monday night that creates barriers through work requirements for people who need health insurance. This will ultimately increase barriers to Medicaid health care coverage and will not close the coverage gap.
“Mississippi state lawmakers thwarted months of work from members in both Chambers to extend Medicaid eligibility to 200,000 more hard-working Mississippians, including people living with chronic conditions such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes, and military veterans. The inability to produce a viable Medicaid expansion plan in the conference means that Mississippi residents will remain in the coverage gap without access to health care coverage for services like cancer screenings and treatment and medications to treat high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma and COPD, for at least another year.
“By including work requirements in the Medicaid expansion report, lawmakers are erecting barriers to health care instead of increasing access to it. There is still time for legislators to do right by hard-working Mississippians this session. The Mississippi Legislature has the time and the power to extend Medicaid eligibility, without barriers, to the 200,000 Mississippians whose lives and health are in jeopardy.”
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