HB539 expands presumptive Medicaid eligibility for pregnant women with a net family income at or below 194% of the federal poverty level. This allows them to receive immediate prenatal care for up to 60 days while their formal Medicaid application is processed.
The Mississippi State Senate passed HB539 on February 29, 2024 by a vote of 48 to 4. We have assigned pluses to the nays because neither health care nor social welfare is the legitimate object of government. Medicaid, as with many other "entitlement programs," discriminatorily and unjustly provides “eligible” low-income persons, who have little or no tax liability, with government funds at the expense of other hard-working citizens. Mississippi must reject the use of taxpayer dollars for this ever-expanding and unsustainable federal-state program that is not authorized under Article 1, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution.
