Mississippi Today
State insurance premium hike blunts teacher pay raise
State insurance premium hike blunts teacher pay raise
Athena Lindsey, a teacher and policy fellow with Teach Plus Mississippi, repeatedly heard the same concern when surveying teachers in the lead-up to the historic 2022 teacher pay raise: “Every time you see a pay increase, the insurance premiums always go up, so you never really get to feel the actual pay raise.”
Insurance premiums for public employees rose 6% on Jan. 1 of this year, the fifth consecutive year with an increase. The report of the Teach Plus Mississippi survey showed lower insurance premiums as the third highest policy priority for teachers, behind two related to pay increases.
“A lot of them in the survey said that they had second jobs just for that reason, because the insurance plans were ridiculous,” said Lindsey.
The average teacher salary in Mississippi is $53,000, which drops to $40,990 after taxes and retirement contributions, according to calculations by Mississippi First. Premiums for individuals on the plan make up 1% of their take home pay, but 25% for employees with their family on the state insurance. After premiums, take home pay for employees with their family on the plan drops to $30,910.
Five teachers interviewed by Mississippi Today expressed growing frustration with the rising costs and falling benefit quality. State officials say these changes were made to counter rising health insurance costs that are causing financial deficits, with the reserves of the state plan dropping $119 million over the past nine years. Legislators say they are looking to address this problem next session.
The state health plan served nearly 194,000 state employees and their dependents in 2021, the most recent year for which there is data. Most people opt for the “Select” plan with more benefits, but the number of people on that plan has been slowly falling since 2016.
Premium costs have remained largely unchanged for individuals on the single-employee plan, but people whose families also receive insurance through the state plan have seen more significant increases.
Per state law, the state contributes 100% of the premium cost for basic coverage for employees. Employees pay between $20-46 monthly for individual coverage if they opt for the plan with more benefits. The state does not contribute to premium costs for children and spouses, making family coverage significantly more expensive. Prices range between $124 and $840 a month, and vary based on the number of dependents and quality of coverage.
Mississippi is one of two states in the Southeast that doesn’t pay any extra towards premiums for family coverage, according to figures compiled by the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration that were presented at a 2021 hearing. Rep. Kent McCarty, R-Hattiesburg, introduced a bill this session for the state to pay 50% of dependent premiums, but it died in committee.
“A lot of jobs are offering coverage for dependents already, and a lot of times teachers leave to take those jobs, so we thought this could be a way to make the teaching profession more competitive with others and keep teachers in the classroom,” he said.
A recent report published by Mississippi First studied why teachers are leaving the classroom. In it’s survey, 42% said they could not afford deductibles, premiums, or other health care costs not covered by insurance, and financial insecurity was closely linked with risk of leaving the classroom.
“Any improvement in this area, whether that is reducing cost for teachers or improving the quality of the plan, is all going to necessitate more resources from the state,” said Toren Ballard, K-12 policy director for Mississippi First.
This gap between individual and family premiums is common in the teaching profession. According to a 2020 report published by the Southern Regional Education Board, teachers pay an average of $200 less in monthly premiums for single plans than private sector employees, but an average of $257 more in premiums for family plans.
Megan Boren, project manager with the board, said her study of teacher compensation found most states in the Southeast have work to do because of the sizable cost gap between single and family coverage. Boren said she would not single out Mississippi as struggling in this area, but pointed to Alabama, Virginia, and Florida as exemplar states that have successfully kept costs down for employees.
“A lot of this is just tied to how health insurance is set up, and there’s not a lot of wiggle room or great strategies that an employer, government or otherwise, can take on these pieces,” Boren said. “Our hands are quite tied because of the way health insurance is structured in this country and some of the general policies around that.”
A bill moving through the Legislature this session would study the state health insurance system and make recommendations for legislation to be proposed in 2024. The task force, proposed by Senate Education Committee Chairman Dennis DeBar, R-Leaksville, would focus on the financial solvency of the plan, rate increases, benefits and comparisons to other Southeastern states.
“I just want to see a deep dive into why expenses keep going up and up,” DeBar said. “I don’t want insurance (costs) to be a deterrent to getting insurance and doing yearly check-ups, because on the back end, medical conditions may be worse off if people don’t treat them.”
Some teachers share his concern that current rates are discouraging employees from seeking preventive care.
“I get that if you have a catastrophic year, it’s there for you, but this should be so much more in a state that is so unhealthy,” said Jason Reid, a teacher in the DeSoto County School District.
Reid, a two-time cancer patient, has hit his out-of-pocket maximum with both diagnoses and experienced the safety net that the plan can provide, but said that because of rising costs, most of his colleagues feel like they never see a benefit. Reid added the insurance plan usually isn’t stopping people from becoming teachers, but that it is driving them away.
Advocates say a lack of investment from the state is also driving away other state employees. Brenda Scott, the president of the Mississippi Alliance of State Employees, said teachers got a “decent” raise last year, but that for other state workers, raises are “very rare.”
Scott said she would like to see raises for state employees to make it easier for them to afford premium increases when they come along, or for the state to expand Medicaid to give employees more coverage options.
READ MORE: Q&A: What is Medicaid expansion, really?
“They’re not expanding Medicaid, which is meant to cover the working poor,” she said. “There’s a lot of state employees who would fit into that category.”
Adding to frustration with the insurance premium increase are other changes to the plan.
Multiple teachers expressed frustration with the declining quality of prescription drug coverage since the switch from Prime Therapeutics to CVS Caremark, a change that state officials said was made to save money on rising healthcare costs.
Renee Webber-Butler, a teacher in the Perry County School District, was informed after the switch that the ADHD medicine her 16-year-old son takes would no longer be covered. He had tried multiple medications and had negative side effects with some before finding success with Vyvanse, the medicine that was no longer being covered.
“I explained to him what was going on, and he said, ‘Mom, I’m not going to have to take that medicine where I’m mean and angry am I?’” Webber-Butler said. “How do you look at your kid and say, ‘Well, son, I’m sorry but … on educator salaries, we can’t (pay out of pocket.)’”
She said they found another medicine for him that will be covered, but called it “ridiculous” that her son has been on three different medicines in six months.
Cindy Bradshaw, the administrator of the state health insurance plan, said the switch to CVS Caremark, as well as the deductible and premium increases in recent years, are adjustments to balance the finances of the health insurance plan. The plan has been spending more on care than premiums could cover every year since 2016, which has significantly decreased the surplus reserves of the plan. The surplus was $247 million in 2012 and had dwindled to $64 million by the end of 2021, according to the plan’s actuarial report for 2021.
During the 2022 legislative session, the state health insurance plan was given $60 million in American Rescue Plan funds, and a bill has passed out of committee to give the plan another $30 million in federal pandemic relief funds this session.
When discussing the incremental actions of the state board that manages the health insurance plan, Bradshaw said, “We’re trying to softly land a plane instead of having a big crash.”
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi Today
Indicted Jackson prosecutor’s latest campaign finance report rife with errors
Tangled finances, thousands in personal loans and a political contribution from a supposed investor group made up of undercover FBI informants — this was all contained in a months-late campaign finance report from Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens.
Owens, a second-term Democrat in Mississippi’s capital city region, is fighting federal bribery charges, to which he’s pleaded not guilty. At the same time, his recent campaign finance disclosure reflects a pair of transactions that correspond with key details in the government’s allegation that Owens took money from undercover informants to pay off a local official’s debt.
Regarding payments from Facility Solutions Team — the company name used in the FBI sting — to former Jackson City Councilwoman Angelique Lee, Owens allegedly stated the need to “clean it out,” according to the indictment, which was unsealed in November.
“[L]ike we always do, we’ll put it in a campaign account, or directly wire it,” he said, the indictment claims. “[T]hat’s the only way I want the paper trail to look.”
Agents recorded hundreds of hours of conversations with Owens and other officials, and after his arraignment last year, Owens responded to the charges, saying, “The cherry-picked statements of drunken locker room banter is not a crime.”
Throughout 2024, a non-election year during which federal authorities allege Owens funneled thousands of dollars in bribes to Jackson’s city officials, Owens loaned his campaign more than $20,000, according to his campaign committee’s finance report. He’d won reelection in late 2023.
Owens and his attorneys did not respond to questions about his campaign finance report.
Owens’ report, filed May 30 – months late and riddled with errors – is the latest example of how Mississippi politicians can ignore the state’s campaign finance transparency laws while avoiding meaningful consequences. It’s a lax legal environment that has led to late and illegible reports, untraceable out-of-state money that defied contribution limits, and, according to federal authorities, public corruption with campaign finance accounts serving as piggy banks.
Enforcement duties are divided among many government bodies, including the Mississippi Ethics Commission. The commission’s executive director, Tom Hood, has long complained that the state’s campaign finance laws are confusing and ineffective.
“It’s just a mess,” Hood said.
Owens filed the annual report months past the Jan. 31 deadline, after reporting from The Marshall Project – Jackson revealed he had failed to do so. He paid a $500 fine in April.
He was also late filing in previous years, paying fines in some years and failing to pay the penalties in other years, according to records provided by the Ethics Commission.
The report, which Owens signed, is full of omissions or miscalculations, with no way to tell which is which. The cover sheet of the report provides the total amount of itemized contributions and disbursements for the year — $44,000 in and $36,500 out. But the body of the report lists the line-by-line itemizations for each, and when the Marshall Project – Jackson and Mississippi Today summed the individual itemizations, the totals didn’t match those on the cover sheet.
Based on the itemized spending detailed in the body of the report, Owens’ campaign should have thousands more in cash on hand than reported. In the report’s cover sheet, Owens also reported that he received more in itemized contributions during the year than he received in total contributions, which would be impossible to do.
While the secretary of state receives and maintains campaign finance reports, it has no obligation to review the reports and no authority to investigate their accuracy. Under state law, willfully filing a false campaign finance report is a misdemeanor. Charges, however, are rare.
Owens is the only local official in the federal bribery probe — which is set to go to trial next summer — who remains in office. The government alleged that Owens accepted $125,000 to split between him and two associates in late 2023 from a group of men he believed were vying for a development project in downtown Jackson. Owens accepted several thousand dollars more to funnel to public officials for their support of the project, the indictment alleges. The use of campaign accounts was an important feature of the alleged scheme, according to the indictment.
Owens divvied up $50,000 from Facility Solutions Team, or FST, into checks from various individuals or companies — allegedly meant to conceal the bribe — to former Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba’s reelection campaign, the indictment charged.
Lumumba accepted the checks during a sunset cruise on a yacht in South Florida, the indictment alleged. His campaign finance report, filed earlier this year, reflected five $10,000 contributions near the date of the trip, with no mention of FST.
Lumumba, who lost reelection in April, has pleaded not guilty.
While the indictment accused Owens of saying that public officials use campaign accounts to finance their personal lives, state law prohibits the use of political contributions for personal use.
The indictment alleges Owens accepted $60,000 — some for the purpose of funneling to local politicians — from the men representing themselves as FST in the backroom of Owens’ cigar bar on Feb. 13, 2024. On his campaign finance report, he listed a $12,500 campaign contribution from FST two days later, the same day the indictment alleges he paid off $10,000 of former Councilwoman Lee’s campaign debt. Lee pleaded guilty to charges related to the alleged bribery scheme in 2024.
Also on Feb. 15, 2024, the campaign finance report Owens filed shows a $10,000 payment to 1Vision, a printing company that used to go by the name A2Z Printing, for the purpose of “debt retirement.” Lee had her city paycheck garnished starting in 2023 to pay off debts to A2Z Printing, according to media reports. No mention of Lee was made in the campaign finance report filed by Owens. The printing company did not respond to requests for comment.
Campaigns are allowed to contribute money to other campaigns or political action committees. If Owens’ committee used campaign funds to pay off debt owed by Lee’s campaign, the transaction should have been structured as a contribution to Lee’s campaign and reported as such by both campaigns, said Sam Begley, a Jackson-based attorney and election law expert who has advised candidates about their financial disclosures.
The alleged debt payoff on behalf of Lee is not the first time Owens has described transactions on his campaign finance filings in ways that may obscure how his campaign is spending money. Confusing or unclear descriptions of spending activity are common on campaign finance reports across the state.
Owens previously reported that in 2023, he paid $1,275 to a staff member in the district attorney’s office who also worked on his campaign. The payment was labeled a reimbursement, which Owens explained in a May email to The Marshall Project – Jackson was for expenditures this person made on behalf of the campaign, “such as meals for volunteers/workers, evening/weekend canvassers, and election day workers.”
State law requires campaigns to itemize all contributions and expenses over $200. Begley said he believes Owens’ committee should have itemized any payments over $200 made by anyone on behalf of the campaign.
Upfront payments, with the expectation of repayment by the campaign, might also be considered a loan, according to a spokesperson for the secretary of state. Campaigns are barred from spending money to repay undocumented loans.
The state Ethics Commission has addressed undocumented loan repayments in several opinions, outlining the required documentation to make repayments legal.
Since 2018, the Ethics Commission has had the power to issue advisory opinions upon request to help candidates and campaigns sort through laws that Hood, the commission’s executive director, said aren’t always clear.
The commission has issued just six opinions in seven years.
“I was surprised in the first few years that there weren’t more,” Hood said. “But now it seems to be clear that for whatever reason, most people don’t think they need advice.”
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The post Indicted Jackson prosecutor's latest campaign finance report rife with errors appeared first on mississippitoday.org
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Left
The article critically examines the conduct of Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens, a Democrat, and highlights systemic weaknesses in Mississippi’s campaign finance laws. While the reporting is grounded in factual evidence, legal documents, and expert commentary, the tone leans toward exposing flaws in enforcement and transparency—issues typically emphasized by center-left or reform-oriented journalism. The article does not display partisan rhetoric or ideological framing beyond its focus on accountability and legal integrity. Its publication by Mississippi Today and The Marshall Project, both known for investigative work with slight progressive leanings, further supports a Center-Left classification.
Mississippi Today
Whooping cough cases increase in Mississippi
The Mississippi State Department of Health issued an alert Wednesday that cases of pertussis, or whooping cough, are climbing in the state.
The year-to-date number of cases in Mississippi ballooned to 80 as of July 10. That compares to 49 cases in all of 2024.
No whooping cough deaths have been reported. Ten people have been hospitalized related to whooping cough, seven of whom were children under 2 years old.
Cases have largely been clustered in northeast Mississippi. The region accounts for 40% of cases statewide.
The nation has also seen rising rates of whooping cough, though cases have been climbing less steeply than in Mississippi. About 15,000 whooping cough cases have been reported nationwide this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The highly contagious respiratory illness is named for the “whooping” sound people make when gasping for air after a coughing fit. It may begin like a common cold but can last for weeks or months. Babies younger than 1 year are at greatest risk for getting whooping cough, and can have severe complications that often require hospitalization.
Whooping cough cases fell in Mississippi after the COVID-19 pandemic began, but have since rebounded. This is likely due to people now taking fewer mitigation measures, like masking and remote learning, State Epidemiologist Renia Dotson said at the state Board of Health meeting July 9.
The majority of cases – 76% – have occurred in children. Of the 73 cases reported in people who were old enough to be vaccinated, 28 were unvaccinated. Of those 28 people, 23 were children.
“Vaccines are the best defense against vaccine preventable diseases,” State Health Officer Dr. Dan Edney said after the State Board of Health meeting.
Mississippi has long had the highest child vaccination rates in the country. But the state’s kindergarten vaccination rates have dropped since a federal judge ruled in 2023 that parents can opt out of vaccinating their children for school on account of religious beliefs.
The pertussis vaccination is administered in a five-dose series for children under 7 and booster doses for older children and adults. The health department recommends that pregnant women, grandparents and family or friends that may come in close contact with an infant should get booster shots to ensure they do not pass the illness to children, particularly those too young to be vaccinated.
Immunity from pertussis vaccination wanes over time, and there is not a routine recommendation for boosters.
State health officials also encourage vaccination against other childhood illnesses, like measles. While Mississippi has not reported any measles cases, Texas has had recent outbreaks.
The Mississippi Health Department offers vaccinations to children and uninsured adults at county health departments.
Correction 7/16/25: This story has been updated to reflect that the age of the seven hospitalized children is under 2 years old.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The post Whooping cough cases increase in Mississippi appeared first on mississippitoday.org
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
This article presents a straightforward, fact-based account of rising whooping cough cases in Mississippi without ideological framing. It cites official sources such as the Mississippi State Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, offering context, statistics, and public health recommendations. While it mentions a 2023 federal court ruling that allowed religious exemptions to vaccinations—a potentially contentious topic—it does so factually without editorializing or assigning blame. The overall tone remains neutral and informative, aligning with public health reporting rather than political advocacy.
Mississippi Today
Driver’s license office moves to downtown Jackson
The driver’s license office in Jackson has moved downtown as the Mississippi Department of Public Safety prepares to shift its headquarters from the capital city to suburban Rankin County.
The department last month announced it was closing the license office that had operated for decades next to its headquarters just off Interstate 55 at Woodrow Wilson Avenue, near the VA Medical Center.
The new office is at 430 State St., near Jackson’s main post office and a few blocks from the Capitol.
“This location provides easier access for those who live and work in the area and ensures we can continue offering vital driver services in a more convenient and accessible space within the city of Jackson,” said Bailey Martin, spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety.
Mississippi has 35 driver’s licenses offices. The new Jackson office is in a former car dealership – an all-white building with floor-to-ceiling windows that fill the space with sunlight. On Wednesday, customers sat on black benches, chatting or scrolling on their phones while waiting to be called up to get or renew a license.
Carlos Lakes, 34, from Yazoo City, said he first went to the Richland office that issues commercial driver’s licenses but couldn’t get what he needed there. He said he then went to the old office on Woodrow Wilson and saw a note on the door showing the office had moved.
“So, it’s been about two hours of running around,” said Lakes, a truck driver.
He said the customer service at the new office was good, aside from the long wait time.
Medical student Seth Holton, 22, had a similar experience. He drove in from Flora, in Madison County, and went to the Woodrow Wilson location before finding the new office. He said it was his first time getting his license renewed.
“I think it looks nice,” Holton said of the new location. “I think it’s organized. There’s good seating. It’s pretty quick, for the most part.”
Student Marquerion Brown, 19, posed for photos with a large cardboard frame of a driver’s license in the corner of the new office. He’d just passed his driver’s test for the first time.
“I’m just lucky and thankful to get this one this time,” Brown said. He hadn’t decided where he wanted to drive first. “I got a lot of places in mind.”
The Department of Public Safety headquarters will open in Pearl within the next year, near the state’s crime lab, fire academy and emergency management agency.
Martin said the new headquarters will allow the department to have its divisions in one place – the highway patrol, bureau of investigation, bureau of narcotics, homeland security office and commercial transportation enforcement.
“As such, this move will enhance operational efficiency with other public safety partners, improve interagency collaboration, and position the department for future growth,” Martin said.
The headquarters move has been in the making for over five years. Public safety officials said the old building on Woodrow Wilson fell into disrepair after years of neglect.
Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, was part of a group of lawmakers who proposed moving the headquarters to a different location inside Jackson.
“I personally think that the state government should be based in the state capital,” he said.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The post Driver's license office moves to downtown Jackson appeared first on mississippitoday.org
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
This article from *Mississippi Today* offers a factual and neutral report on the relocation of the Jackson driver’s license office and the broader headquarters move by the Mississippi Department of Public Safety. It includes quotes from officials and everyday citizens without editorializing or promoting a specific viewpoint. The inclusion of Sen. David Blount’s comment presents a mild political contrast, but it is balanced and not framed in a confrontational or ideological way. The tone remains focused on public service logistics and community impact rather than political narrative.
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