‘Tis the season — Labor Day weekend — when state politicians will trip over each other to praise Mississippi workers.

And they rightfully should sing the praises of the state’s workforce — the entire workforce, those at the top of the pay scale and those at the bottom. Mississippi has a lot of dedicated workers.

But it also tis the season when various organizations evaluate the working conditions of each state.

According to Oxfam, a nonprofit that promotes equality, Mississippi is 51st (including Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico) in its most recent ranking of best states to work. The ranking that was released last week is determined based on 27 factors related to wages, worker protection and the right to organize.

Mississippi’s low ranking can be attributed to a number of factors, such as being among the 20 states that have not increased the minimum wage, the lack of paid family leave, low unemployment benefits and a weak equal pay law.

Another factor that is harmful to thousands of Mississippi workers is the refusal of state leaders to take steps to ensure they have adequate health care. Mississippi is one of 10 states that have not expanded Medicaid, as is allowed under federal law, to provide health insurance coverage for the working poor.

Mississippi politicians often have said that instead of expanding Medicaid, they wanted to ensure good jobs that offer health insurance as a benefit.

How is that plan working out for Mississippi workers?

Medicaid expansion has been available for states to opt into for more than a decade. When Medicaid expansion started, Mississippi had one of the nation’s lowest percentage of workers receiving health insurance coverage through their employer.

Guess what?

Mississippi is still near the bottom in terms of the percentage of its workforce with employer-provided health insurance. According to 2023 data compiled by KFF, which conducts health research, just 42.7% of Mississippi workers have employer-based health insurance compared to the national average of 48.6%.

KFF research also reveals that 10.5% of Mississippians have no health insurance at all, compared to the national average of 7.9%.

If political leaders continue to refuse to expand Medicaid and anticipated federal changes play out, the number of Mississippians with no health insurance is expected to rise in the coming years.

Enhanced federal subsidies provided during the Joe Biden administration for health insurance purchased on the federal marketplace exchange are scheduled to expire at the end of this year. Congress opted not to continue the enhanced subsidies as part of President Trump’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill.”

Without the enhanced subsidies, KFF estimates the average cost of a policy for the 338,000 Mississippians who have insurance through the marketplace exchange will increase $480 per year, which could be cost prohibitive for someone working in a convenience store or waiting tables or cutting grass.

Experts predict fewer people — fewer Mississippi workers — will have health insurance in the coming years because of the federal action to allow the enhanced subsidies to expire and the state’s inaction of not expanding Medicaid.

Roy Mitchell, executive director of the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program, said federal studies estimate 170,000 Mississippians will not be able to continue their marketplace plan once the enhanced federal subsidies expire at the end of 2025.

That could result in more sick Mississippians, meaning fewer people in the workforce for state politicians to praise.

Yes, ’tis the season to celebrate Mississippi workers.

But when is the season to provide real health care relief for Mississippi’s low wage workers?

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