Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians

Advocacy

Mississippi CHIP Facts

MISSISSIPPI CHIP FACT SHEET (Click Here for PDF Version of This Page)

AAFP on Children’s Health Insurance Program
The AAFP promotes and supports a safe and nurturing environment for all children that includes access to comprehensive medical, dental and mental health care, psychological and legal security and does not discriminate on the basis of adoption, foster care, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Every family physician is trained to, and has provided, care for children. In 2016, more than 80% of family physicians reported providing care for adolescents, and 73% reported caring for infants and children. Close to one-third of family physicians also provide care for newborns and infants, and many deliver babies in their communities.1 AAFP has a major stake in ensuring the viability of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Medicaid, which serves almost seven times as many poor and disabled children as CHIP. The AAFP urges Congress to enact a long-term funding extension of CHIP to keep both programs strong and foster stability to low income children and families.

Mississippi Family Medicine
• There are 952 AAFP members in Mississippi.
• Mississippi has 3 family medicine residency programs.
• Mississippi has 91 medically underserved areas/populations.
• 14.4% of population living in a health professional shortage area.

Children’s Health Insurance Program in Mississippi
• Mississippi operates a separate Children’s Health Insurance Program.
• 530,617 children are covered by Medicaid and CHIP in Mississippi:
o 88,531 children received CHIP-funded coverage
o 442,086 received Medicaid-funded coverage
• In 2015, there were 29,000 uninsured children in Mississippi.
• CHIP in Mississippi covers children ages 0-18 from 134% – 209% of FPL.
• Cost sharing is associated with CHIP in Mississippi; it begins at 150% of FPL.
• Mississippi is expected to exhaust federal CHIP funds by March 2018 if Congress does not
reauthorize the program.

Medicaid/Medicare Parity
• The increase in Medicaid payment to 100% of Medicare for primary care services improved access to care among family physicians taking Medicaid by 7.7%.
• AAFP’s Core Principles of Medicaid supports payment for primary care services that are at
least equal to Medicare’s payment rate.
• Acceptance of new Medicaid patients among AAFP members is at an all-time high of 69%.

Teaching Health Centers
• The AAFP supports teaching health centers (THCs) reauthorization legislation, HR
3394 and S 1754, the Training the Next Generation of Primary Care Doctors Act of
2017, as a critical program to increase the number of primary care physicians.
• The Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) program also
addresses the regional primary care physician shortage, particularly within rural and
underserved communities.
• There is one teaching health center graduate medical education program in Meridian,
Mississippi.
o East Central Mississippi Health Network, Inc. has a residency program in family
medicine and receives $1,359,270 in federal THCGME support.
o During the 2016-2017, there were 18 full-time equivalents.
• Residents trained in THCs are well prepared for primary care practice in community
settings, and data show that training in underserved communities increases the
likelihood that these residents will choose to practice in similar settings upon
graduation.10 In addition, graduates of THCs are more likely to work in safety net clinics
than residents who did not train in these centers.

National Health Service Corps
• The AAFP advocates for the reauthorization of funding for the National Health Service
Corps (NHSC) which is vital to promoting access to family physicians in health professions
shortage areas throughout the nation.
• In Mississippi, the National Health Service Corps supports nearly 105 full-time clinicians.
o Of those, 102 are in the NHSC loan repayment program.
o 67 of the Mississippi NHSC placements are in primary health care.
• The NHSC helps bring health care to those who need it most. Today, 10,400 NHSC
members provide culturally competent care to more than 11 million people.

References
1 American Academy of Family Physicians Member Census, December 31, 2016. Retrieved from http://www.aafp.org/about/theaafp/family-medicine-facts/table-13.html
2 As of July 31, 2017.
3 Child Enrollment in CHIP and Medicaid by State, FY 2016. Retrieved from https://www.macpac.gov/wpcontent/uploads/2015/01/EXHIBIT-31.-Child-Enrollment-in-CHIP-and-Medicaid-by-State-FY-2016.pdf
4 Alker, Joan, Alisa Chester. (2016, October). Children’s Health Coverage Rate Now at Historic High of 95 Percent. Retrieved from
https://ccf.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Kids-ACS-update-11-02-1.pdf
5 CHIP Eligibility Levels (2016) and Enrollment (2015) by State. (2017, March). Retrieved from https://www.macpac.gov/wpcontent/uploads/2017/05/Table-1B-1_-CHIP-Eligibility-Levels_2016_-and-enrollment_fy-2015-by-State.pdf
6 Brooks, Tricia, Karina Wagnerman. (2017, Jan). Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility, Enrollment, Renewal, and Cost Sharing Policies as of
January 2017: Findings from a 50-State Survey. Retrieved from http://files.kff.org/attachment/Report-Medicaid-and-CHIP-Eligibility-asof-Jan-2017
7 Federal CHIP Funding: When Will States Exhaust Allotments?. (2017, July). Retrieved from https://www.macpac.gov/wpcontent/uploads/2017/03/Federal-CHIP-Funding_When-Will-States-Exhaust-Allotments.pdf
8 Basseyn, Simon, Chris Colameco, Janet Weiner. (2015, January 21). Bumped-up Medicaid Fees for Primary Care Linked to Improved
Appointment Availability. Retrieved from https://ldi.upenn.edu/bumped-medicaid-fees-primary-care-linked-improved-appointmentavailability
9 Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Awardees. (2017, April). Retrieved from
https://bhw.hrsa.gov/grants/medicine/thcgme/map
10 Cashman, Suzanne, Warren Ferguson, Daniel Lasser, Judith Savageau. (2009). Family Medicine Residency Characteristics
Associated with Practice in a Health Professions Shortage Area. Retrieved from
http://www.stfm.org/fmhub/fm2009/June/Warren405.pdf
11 Bazemore, Andrew, Lars Peterson, Robert Phillips, Melanie Rafoul, Peter Wingrove. (2015, November 15). Graduates of Teaching
Health Centers are More Likely to Enter Practice in Primary Care Safety Net. Retrieved from
http://www.aafp.org/afp/2015/1115/p868.html
12 National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Current Provider FTE Summary by State Report. 

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