The population of this state only matters when it's to pull on hearts strings.

"In Mississippi, one of the nation’s poorest states, the missing federal health care dollars have helped drive what is now a full-blown hospital crisis," reported Sharon LaFraniere. "Statewide, experts say that no more than a few of Mississippi’s 100-plus hospitals are operating at a profit. Free care is costing them about $600 million a year, the equivalent of 8 percent to 10 percent of their operating costs — a higher share than almost anywhere else in the nation, according to the state hospital association."

Medicaid expansion in other states has been a lifeline to rural hospitals, who tend to see fewer patients, are less likely to be affiliated with large hospital systems, and serve remoter, poorer areas — the type of hospital that has been disproportionately vanishing around the country, leaving already distressed areas with few health care options.

https://www.rawstory.com/amp/mississippi-republicans-medicaid-2659664979