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Report: Fewer Mississippians Have Health Insurance Now Than in 2014
By adreherThe number of Mississippians without health insurance has grown over the past year. Over 16 percent of Mississippians don't have health insurance in all but six counties, according to data from Enroll America and Civis Analytics. This number supersedes 2014 numbers and can be seen visually on the New York Times' Upshot blog.
Mississippi's Republican leadership has opted to not expand Medicaid, and Medicaid enrollment numbers have leveled out in 2015, and are on the decline according to the state division's report. In July, 737,854 Mississippians were enrolled in Medicaid; now, 730,354 Mississippians are enrolled.
The Upshot reported that the decision to not expand Medicaid in states with large numbers of uninsured constituents puts people in the "Medicaid gap," since they are unable to qualify for Affordable Care Act services due to their low incomes. Medicaid expansion will likely be reconsidered in the 2016 Legislative session.
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Person of the Day
Jenna Bush Hager
This year's keynote speaker at the second annual Women's Day at the Country Club of Jackson is Jenna Bush Hager.
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City & County
10 Local Stories of the Week
There's never a slow news week in Jackson, Miss., and last week was no exception. Here are the local stories JFP reporters brought you in case you missed them.
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Person of the Day
Sam Beibers
Sam Beibers, the exhibits supervisor at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, has had a lifelong love of animals that he loves to share with others through his work in …
Place
Place
The Church Triumphant Global
(in Lakeover near I-220 North @ Watkins Drive)
Place
Story
State
USM Follows Ole Miss, UMMC in Taking Down State Flag
Another public university in Mississippi is stopping the display of the state flag on campus because it contains a Confederate battle emblem many see as divisive.
Entry
Mill Street Gets $3 Million Surprise from MDOT's Dick Hall
By R.L. NaveDick Hall, the Central District commissioner to the Mississippi Transportation Commission, had a little surprise for Jackson Mayor Tony Yarber today.
Well, not exactly little.
It was a $3 million check for Mill Street reconstruction. Hall grew up in Fondren and said he wanted Mill, which runs from downtown northward to Fondren, to be restored to its heyday.
The presentation came at the end of a press conference to announce at $16.5 million federal DOT grant to Jackson for a North State Street project, from Sheppard Road to Hartfield Street. The project will also include a portion of West County Line Road in the Tougaloo community.
Yarber said both the North State Street and Mill Street projects are part of the 1-percent sales tax master plan, which he said would free up funds for other projects in the plan.
The fund currently contains approximately $21 million; Yarber said his administration expects to recommend a project manager to the city council in the next few weeks.
http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2015/oct/28/23394/
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The Slate
The SEC West gets more interesting by the week with the ups and downs of the rankings. Mississippi State is back in at No. 25.
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Find an Issue Worth Your Vote
Being registered to vote is meaningless unless you wield your power as a citizen and actually head to a polling place.
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How Voter ID and Voter Turnout Could Affect Elections
Mississippi's Voter ID law took effect last year, largely relying on research commissioned by the secretary of state's office finding that 98 percent of Mississippi voters reported having at least …
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JFP Interviews
Green: Farming an Economic Future
Raised on a farm and the daughter of a sharecropper, Addie Lee Green remembers learning how to chop down trees for firewood as a child. Now she is running to …
Story
Education
A Rework for ‘Restraint and Seclusion’
While most organizations fully support the creation and implementation of a restraint and seclusion policy, many are not satisfied with the policy as it is written now.
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Cover
The Lt. Gov Power Trip
If campaign publicity is a measure, the stage is set for a showdown between Tate Reeves and Tim Johnson—although it has been a relatively quiet race thus far.
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Cover
Phil Bryant: Tea Party Governor
The running joke in Jackson political circles is that Phil Bryant is just three handshakes away from being a Hinds County sheriff's deputy.
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Music
Faith and 5th Child
From an early age, Stephen Brown—better known to fans as Jackson hip-hop artist 5th Child—found musical inspiration in a plethora of old-school artists, including Curtis Mayfield and Michael Jackson, while …
Story
Politics
Robert Gray Looks to the Home Stretch
Robert Gray, the Democratic nominee for governor, says he draws some odd reactions from people.
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Food
Treat Yo' Self This Halloween
In a world where King Cakes are king, Broad Street is bringing back its Death by Candy king cake for Halloween.
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Business
Council Hints at Lawsuit Over JATRAN
The Jackson City Council was poised this week to reconsider an agreement with the new operators of JATRAN, the city's bus system, but held off on discussion amid a threat …
