Bobby Harrison

The fight over the school funding formula could be one of the most contentious issues during the final weeks of the legislative session.

Marketplace vs. Medicaid expansion: ‘The bottom line is Medicaid reimburses at a higher rate.’

Escalation in education spending is being spurred, at least in part, by dispute between the House and Senate over the school funding formula.

Mississippi Today’s Bobby Harrison, Geoff Pender and Taylor Vance discuss the biggest issues – Medicaid expansion, school funding and PERS – that could spur contentious final days of the 2024 legislative session.

When Reeves vetoed the bulk of the state education budget in 2020, he said schools would still function, based on an opinion by former AG Jim Hood.

‘We take hundreds of millions of federal dollars for highways, education, ... law enforcement and natural disasters. But for some reason we push back on additional money for health care.’

In a key meeting of lawmakers negotiating Medicaid expansion, the House offered a compromise expansion plan. The Senate did not reciprocate.

In 1969, Leah Hendrix’s grandfather brought Medicaid to Mississippi. Now, she’s on the front lines advocating for Medicaid expansion.

‘We are hopeful a compromise is on the horizon. When people are healthy, they are working, raising their families, and contributing to their communities.’ -- Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann

Under the first year of the new formula, K-12 education is supposed to receive an additional $230 million, about $50 million less than MAEP would have provided if fully funded.