JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – The first legislative deadline of the 2024 session has come and gone. Thousands of bills have been filed, giving us a glimpse as to what the rest of the session may be focused on.

So far, there has been a huge emphasis on healthcare, specifically from House Democrats. They’re taking another swipe at expanding Medicaid with one slight change this year.

House Democrats filed seven separate bills that would expand Medicaid to Mississippi’s working population. Six of those bills would expand Medicaid in the traditional sense through the Affordable Care Act. But one, authored by House Minority Leader Rep. Robert Johnson (D-District 94), takes a different approach.

“We came to the conclusion of just pure Medicaid expansion was kind of a non-starter. What we’ve offered is sort of a hybrid,” said Johnson.

His plan expands Medicaid in the traditional sense, but it includes a private insurance option and a tiered co-pay system based on income. It would cover people up to 200% of the federal poverty level compared to traditional expansion, which covers 138%.

“You get to be like 175% of poverty, 150% of poverty, you pay a certain amount. At 200% of poverty, you pay 50%, but no more than $400 a year. The reason we did that is because under that scenario you cover so many more working women. We got, we covered 20,000 more working women than we ordinarily would on a regular plan,” said Johnson.

He said anywhere between 175,000 to 200,000 Mississippians would be granted coverage.

As lawmakers await plans from Republican leadership, Johnson is hopeful.

“The people we’re trying to cover are working people,” he said. “Of course, they’re going to have their own plan, but I think we’re closer to than we were when the session started.” 

Other legislation filed includes reforms to the state retirement system, PERS, as well as legislation that would restore voting rights to felons who have completed their sentence.

There are plenty of issues that are represented through what was filed, but one that has not yet shown up is campaign finance reform. Neither Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann’s (R-Miss.) nor Secretary of State Michael Watson’s (R-Miss.) plan to address campaign finance reform has been filed yet.