Medicaid expansion plans and school funding changes still alive in Mississippi Legislature

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Bills to expand Medicaid and rewrite the funding formula for public schools are among measures still alive in the Mississippi Legislature.

Tuesday was the deadline for House and Senate committees to consider general bills and constitutional amendments originating in the other chamber. Surviving legislation moves to the full House and Senate for more debate. Budget and revenue bills have later deadlines.

The Legislature’s four-month session is scheduled to end in early May.

A look at the status of some general bills:

MEDICAID EXPANSION — ALIVE

Mississippi lawmakers will try to reach a compromise on expanding Medicaid in one of the poorest states in the U.S. after the Senate voted for a vastly different plan than one proposed by the House. The Senate proposal would insure fewer people and bring less federal money to the state than the version approved by the House. The Senate’s approach also includes a tougher work requirement and measures to prevent a wider expansion of Medicaid benefits in the future.

EDUCATION FUNDING — ALIVE

Senate leaders want to alter the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, which is designed to give districts enough money to meet midlevel academic standards but has been fully funded only two years since becoming law in 1997. House leaders are pushing for a new formula called INSPIRE — Investing in the Needs of Students to Prioritize, Impact and Reform Education. It would be based on a per-student cost determined by 13 educators. Senate Bill 2332 was amended to add the House proposal, while the House bill died. Leaders are expected to try to negotiate a final version.

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