Dr. Aaron Shirley Fellowship Blog: Nakiya Beaman

​There are thousands of people in Mississippi going without healthcare in a state that houses:

· 20% population that does not graduate from high
school,

· 22% population rate that lives in poverty

· 25% of the population does not have healthcare.

· Some of the highest rates in heart disease,diabetes, obesity

· Highest mortality rate in the nation

· A last-place ranking in mortality rate, per capita income, children’s literacy

The Affordable Care Act offers healthcare to many Americans
that would not have had healthcare otherwise because of its magnanimous costs
and lack of public knowledge about the process. The enforcement of the ACA
allows people to be more active in their healthcare decisions while also
offering a competitive marketplace or insurers so that premiums can be fair and
stable for the insured.

Mississippi is in no shape to ignore the potential in the
Affordable Care Act. It does not only make coverage possible for many who
couldn’t have it before but sparks an important conversation about healthcare in
Mississippi not limited to the effects of this federal law but issues with
state programs such as Medicaid expansion.

Nakiya Beaman

Jackson State University