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JACKSON, Miss - A new report released by the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program (MHAP) indicates that Medicaid expansion would generate 20,000 new jobs and produce $14 billion in new economic activity while providing health insurance to over 220,000 Mississippians.
The report, An Economic Analysis of the State and Local Impact of Medicaid Expansion in Mississippi, is the first study to look at the fiscal impact of Medicaid on the state and local communities.
State Leaders have only considered the direct cost of paying for Medicaid expansion and ignored the physical benefits of expanding health insurance. However, this study shows that rejecting Medicaid expansion affects both the physical and fiscal health of the state budget and local communities.
"By Refusing to expand Medicaid, our state leaders are costing our cities and counties thousands of new jobs and economic activity," said Roy Mitchell, Executive Director of the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program.
While rejecting expansion is a fiscal loss to the state as a whole, the study finds that refusal to expand Medicaid is costing Mississippi counties and cities new economic opportunities. In Metro Jackson (Hinds, Madison and Rankin Counties) alone, expansion would lead to 2,712 new jobs and $279 million in economic activity.
The study was authored by David Becker and Michael Morrisey of the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Department of Health Care Organization and Policy. "Unlike other industries which have a narrower footprint within states, the health care sector plays a critical role in the economy of each of Mississippi's 82 counties," stated Becker.
The report reveals that Medicaid expansion stands to be an economic driver for the state. Every $1 in increased federal Medicaid spending yields an additional 0.59-0.64 cents of indirect economic activity.
"When new Medicaid enrollees have access to health coverage, they will also have more disposable income to directly spend in other sectors of the economy such as grocery and retail stores and even housing," said Becker. "The billions in new federal funding would create a demand for thousands of new jobs, a healthier workforce and a stronger state economy."
Despite opponents' claims that Mississippi cannot afford expansion, the authors found that Medicaid expansion would result in a net gain for the state. Under the most likely expansion enrollment scenario, Mississippi would invest $579 million from 2014 to 2020. However, over the same period, the State would see over $1.4 billion in increased tax revenues as a result. That totals to a net gain of $848 million in new tax revenues.
Located in Jackson, MHAP Strives to be a strong, effective voice for improved health care for all throughout the state of Mississippi. MHAP works with legislators, advocates, service providers and community leaders to make health and economic policy and funding patterns more responsive to real health needs.
Media Contact: Kristian Weatherspoon at 601.355.0025 or [email protected]
To read the report please click here.
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
David Becker (Ph.D. and B.A., Economics, University of California, Berkeley) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Care Organization and Policy in the UAB School of Public Health. Prior to his graduate studies, David was a researcher at the National Bureau of Economic Research (Stanford, CA; 1997-99) and a healthcare consultant with The Lewin Group (1996-97).
He has published in a variety of peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of Health Economics, The Journal of the American Medical Association, New England Journal of Medicine, Health Services Research, Expert Reviews in Outcomes Research and Pharmacoeconomics, Journals of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, Clinical Pediatrics, Archives of Internal Medicine and Health Services and Outcomes Research Methodology.
Michael Morrisey is a professor of health economics and health insurance in the Department of Health Care Organization and Policy. He is director of the Lister Hill Center for Health Policy, an endowed research center at UAB named for former Alabama Senator Joseph Lister Hill, and co-director of the Center for Outcomes and Effectiveness Research & Education (COERE). His research interests have largely focused on employer sponsored health insurance, on the effects of legislation and regulation in health and health care, and on hospital economics. His textbook, Health Insurance, was published by Health Administration Press in 2008.
Dr. Morrisey is the author of four other books, 154 peer reviewed papers on health economics and health policy, over 40 other publications and 45 reports. He is an Adjunct Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (http://www.aei.org/), a fellow of the Employee Benefits Research Institute (http://www.ebri.org/) and a member of several editorial boards. He is the Treasurer of the American Society of Health Economists and served for ten years as the treasurer and then secretary/treasurer of the International Health Economics Association. He was the first recipient of the John Thompson Young Investigator Award for health services research given by the Association of University Programs in Health Administration. In 2000 Dr. Morrisey was the recipient of the UAB School of Public Health Distinguished Investigator Award and in 2001 received the UAB School of Public Health President's Award for Teaching. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Washington (Seattle).
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