Mississippi Legislature to consider rural hospital program during upcoming session – SuperTalk Mississippi

As a number of hospitals within the Magnolia State are getting ready to shutting their doorways for good, state leaders have met to discover choices that may present monetary reduction to the medical amenities in jeopardy.

Greenwood Mayor Carolyn McAdams attended a current assembly on the State Capitol through which a number of legislators mentioned the way forward for rural hospitals in Mississippi. One potential answer lawmakers want to take into account through the upcoming legislative session is allocating more cash to hospitals based mostly on a tier system.

“The Mississippi Hospital Group is arising with a Mississippi hospital entry cost program, and that’s going to categorize rural hospitals into totally different tiers. Relying on what tier you’re in, it is possible for you to to entry a little bit more cash than you’d have,” McAdams mentioned on MidDays with Gerard Gibert. “They’re getting a rise to that tier program, if this passes, of about $500,000. So, it will likely be an enormous enhance to that pool of cash that has been accessed earlier than.”

Regardless of the tier program being thought-about by lawmakers, hospitals like Greenwood Leflore will nonetheless want to contemplate different choices to assist keep afloat.

6 Mississippi hospitals face potential closure by finish of summer season 2023

With 80 p.c of GLH’s sufferers not paying for his or her healthcare providers, the hospital is ready to entry federal cash by means of the Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital program, which reimburses qualifying programs for the unpaid payments of uninsured sufferers or Medicaid recipients. This program has acted as a bandaid for GLH, however it’s not a viable, long-term answer, in response to McAdams.

“We’re struggling, however we’re working by means of it. We’ve two consultants which are on it — who’re taking a look at avenues we are able to take — and we’re doing that. We’re doing the whole lot to take care of what we’ve, however it’s going to be tremendously diminished as a result of we are able to’t have a 220-bed hospital any longer and survive with the bills,” McAdams continued. “We’re going to have to cut back all of that, and the way that’s going to come back about proper now, I don’t know.”

The complete interview with McAdams could be watched beneath.