Here is the Medicaid Expansion amendment to the Medicaid tech bill, compliments of Senate Minority Leader @SenDTSimmons. This vote happens every year. Now we're in the middle of the COVID pandemic. Reminder: Mississippians have been diagnosed and 282,969, with 6,342 deaths #msleg

Medicaid Expansion is an economic justice issue. It is a racial justice issue. It is a gender justice issue. Period. #msleg

Mississippians deserve access to health care. To vote against Medicaid Expansion in the middle of a global pandemic says everything you need to know about a legislator. #msleg

Hob Bryan is up, and if you've never heard him speak on a bill, it is always worth hearing. #msleg

Sen. Bryan is giving a great history of how we arrived here. Reminder that if you can't listen live, you can catch the recordings on YouTube on the legislative channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaLmAgbQMuI7kLvDNV6LluA

Bryan reminds us that the fact is, Medicaid Expansion would bring a ton of jobs to Mississippi and we would *make* money off of it. #msleg

In response to McDaniel's requests for guarantees, Sen. John Horhn reminds the Senate that we didn't require guarantees to eliminate franchise taxes for businesses. #msleg

Horhn: MS is the #1 state for people with unpaid medical bills, with a whopping 41%. Re: economic impact, this is a business development opportunity and revenue from the jobs created will cover the 10% match. #msleg

Mississippi hospitals are volunteering to add a $20 fee to visits to cover the match costs. Leaning on the inability to pay for it is simply an excuse. #msleg

McDaniel speaking against the amendment. Staying with his argument about money. #msleg

"At what cost?" McDaniel keeps asking. You and your colleagues decide every day whether the cost is lives or dollars. Y'all keep choosing lives. #msleg

McDaniel didn't share any ideas for helping folks, but he's certain he doesn't want them to have healthcare. #msleg

Senator Jordan, a longtime Black Caucus member simply isn't having it. "Senator McDaniel, where is your compassion? Do you have any compassion at all?" #msleg

Again, McDaniel with money. Ah, and hitting on those "politicians in DC." What's he planning to run for this time? #msleg

McDaniel berating Sen. Jordan is not a good look. Not that he cares. But wow. #msleg

In peak white privilege, McDaniel fails to realize that his daddy being the first person in the family to go to college DOES NOT EQUATE to Jordan's father being a sharecropper. My God. #msleg

Again, as a reminder, Mississippians deserve access to health care. To vote against Medicaid Expansion in the middle of a global pandemic says everything you need to know about a legislator. #msleg

Simmons: if you're against government-sponsored health care, vote against the whole bill. This is about working Mississippians getting access to care. #msleg

Simmons has requested a roll call vote rather than using the roll call for the day, to make sure everyone's vote is on the record. #msleg

The amendment will almost certainly fail, but again, we are talking about getting working people access to care. Many are the very low-income essential workers who are at most risk for COVID-19. #msleg

Amendment to expand Medicaid to the working poor fails. #msleg

Sen. Turner-Ford has a second amendment. Slightly different from Simmons'. Hers is an expansion of eligibility. #msleg

Turner-Ford wants expansion according to the ACA model, not the version that Simmons offered. Would add assessments if the cost isn't fully covered, specifically for providers, cigarettes, and alcohol. Cites that the difference today is the COVID-19 pandemic. Quotes MLK #msleg

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” ― Martin Luther King Jr. #msleg

Bryan: Mississippi will make money if we expand Medicaid. Explains why, again. #msleg

Mississippi Republicans are rejecting Medicaid Expansion because they don't care about poor people, especially poor Black people. Simple as that. These are WORKING POOR FOLKS and it will MAKE US MONEY. #msleg

Turner-Ford requests a roll call on her amendment as well. #msleg

And I say again as this vote is sure to fail: Mississippians deserve access to health care. To vote against Medicaid Expansion in the middle of a global pandemic says everything you need to know about a legislator. #msleg

Second amendment to expand Medicaid for the working poor also fails along party lines. #msleg