The bill, which will reauthorize Medicaid for three more years, was headed to a vote. Several Democrats rose to the podium to make the well-worn argument that expanding Medicaid would be good for both the recipients and the state’s economic health. Mississippi has the highest Medicaid match ratio in the country. It receives three federal dollars per dollar that the state invests into the program. The match rate would have temporarily increased to nine federal dollars per dollar if the state had expanded Medicaid. This was a provision in the Affordable Care Act. Sen. Barbara Blackmon (D-Canton) made reference to this point at the podium. “We lost $9 billion because we didn’t take advantage of the Affordable Care Act, which could have been a huge benefit to so many Mississippians. When I refer to Mississippians, I don’t mean just the people who receive Medicaid. Blackmon stated that he meant those who are providing health care, such as doctors, nurses, and community hospitals that are closing. “Maybe Mississippi should die on the vine?” Because all we have done since I’ve been here for the past three years is ensure the deaths of Mississippians.” While Senators. Although Hob Bryan (D-Amory) and David Jordan (D-Greenwood) spoke for almost half an hour, they had no impact on the votes cast by their Republican counterparts who passed the bill largely along party lines. Tuesday’s debate was dominated by one provision in the Senate Medicaid technical bill. This language would allow the governor “to take all appropriate measures to decrease unnecessary costs” in times of deficit. This would include dropping Mississippi Medicaid services, such as prescription drug coverage, that are not required by the federal government. The legislation was sponsored by Sen. Brice Wiggins (R-Pascagoula), who stated that the clause could only be activated if there is a deficit in the agency. However, Sen. Willie Simmons (D-Clarksdale), noted that the agency has been in deficit almost every year for the past decade. Sometimes, it even ran into $90 million. Simmons stated that “we are giving the governor authority to cut Medicaid.” Wiggins stated that his Medicaid bill had two goals. The first is to improve healthcare. The other is to reduce costs. Republicans and Democrats did not oppose provisions that were geared toward the latter, such a raising the limit on prescriptions and doctor visits. This is likely to be true for the cost-containment measures in the House Medicaid technical bills, which will reach the floor of the chamber on Thursday. The bill includes a provision that allows providers to take 10 percent of the managed-care program currently held by three for-profit businesses. Mississippi True, a non-profit that has received wide support from legislators, is currently the only provider-sponsored plan within the state. Even for Mississippi True’s most ardent supporters, it is difficult to integrate Mississippi True into managed care programs. Rep. Jason White (R-West), presented the bill to the House Medicaid committee. He expressed concern that the House is bending Medicaid rules to benefit one company. White stated that this was a no-bid contract valued at hundreds of millions of dollar. Representatives of Mississippi True claim that 10% is not a sufficient market share for the plan to be successful. Chuck Reece (board chairman of Mississippi True) said that the plan is not actuarially sound until it is 20 percent.