Mississippi

Mississippi’s maternity program is extremely insufficient

Published

1 year ago

October 29, 2024

Getty Israel
| Special to the Mississippi Clarion Ledger

Since January 2011, the state of Mississippi has contracted a NY based company, ActiveHealthⓇ Management, a former subsidiary of Aetna and currently owned by CVS Health.

ActiveHealth Management purportedly provides comprehensive health and wellness management services to the State and School Employees Health Insurance Plan to improve health among more than 197,000 active employees, dependents, spouses and retirees.

The company has received four consecutive contracts valued at a nearly $64,000,000. Yet, it has not produced one evaluation report on its efficacy because the Department of Finance Administration does not require it to assess employees’ health outcomes.

According to Cindy Bradshaw, former State Insurance Administrator, DFA administers patient satisfaction surveys about their experiences within the ActiveHealth Management program. Patient satisfaction surveys are designed to determine how a person feels about or perceives her/his experience with something or someone; it does not determine whether the experience was effective and to what degree.

This is particularly concerning for pregnant state employees who are at risk for pre-term births and Cesarean deliveries, the No. 1 surgery in the state of MS and the nation.

Annually, Mississippi pays for over 90% of prenatal care and births in the state through Mississippi Medicaid and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi plans. In 2022, members in both plans experienced comparable Cesarean delivery rates. About 39% of BCBS of MS members experienced a Cesarean delivery and 37% Medicaid members, according to data from the Mississippi State Department of Health. Also, 20% of BCBS members and 21% of Medicaid members, whose labor was induced, subsequently delivered via a Cesarean. The State paid an estimated average of $27.4 million for Medicaid-members and $30.6 million for BCBS-members who had Cesarean deliveries.

Furthermore, those members who had a first-time Cesarean delivery have a 90% probability of experiencing a repeat procedure because only a handful of providers in Mississippi will attempt to deliver a vaginal birth after a Cesarean delivery.

Liz Welch, DFA’s executive director, said she wasn’t aware of the birth outcomes of state employees and would request a report from BCBS of MS, the state’s plan administrator. I am almost certain she did not.

Since 2019, I have administered a community health worker program that provides preventive based services to pregnant residents, including state employees. I have found ActiveHealth Management’s maternity program to be extremely insufficient and ineffective as it does not address the complex underlying risk factors influencing common negative birth outcomes in Mississippi.

Underlying preventable risk factors affecting most pregnant women in Mississippi are maternal obesity and smoking that can lead to gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, Cesarean deliveries, preterm babies, low birth weight babies, NICU babies, and maternal and infant mortality. Annually Mississippi residents experience the highest rates of maternal obesity (37.6%), fetal deaths (9.5), Cesarean deliveries (39%), preterm births (15), low birth weight (13), maternal mortality (43) and infant mortality (9.2) in the nation.

ActiveHealth Management’s maternity intervention involves nurses making three phone calls to pregnant state employees and one call after the baby is born.

The nurse asks a list of general questions such as, “how’s your overall health,” “how’s your pregnancy going so far,” “any medical concerns,” “are you taking prenatal vitamins,” “what you know about pre-eclampsia,” etc.

There is no face-to-face engagement between the employee and nurse, including no home visits and no birth support. The nurse doesn’t assist the employee with developing a prenatal dietary and exercise plan, a birth plan, healthy birth practices to prevent medically unnecessary labor inductions, and Cesarean deliveries. She does not provide crucial childbirth education and breastfeeding and postpartum support, which is needed in the home.

Providing exclusive phone support during pregnancy has been shown to reduce risk for depression, but it does not improve risky health behaviors, e.g. smoking, sedentary, unhealthy foods or birth outcomes. Data show that neither phone nor short message support are effective at reducing prenatal smoking, improving prenatal body mass index, reducing preterm births, and Cesarean deliveries.

In contrast, there is considerable evidence showing that community health worker programs, which provide in-personal maternal health education and birth assistance, are significantly effective at changing risky behaviors and improving healthcare decisions that lead to better prenatal health and birth outcomes.

Community health workers can provide a supportive social network, motivate and drive pregnant patients at risk to make healthy lifestyle changes that reduce maternal obesity, stress and anxiety and improve physical health, which subsequently reduces maternal morbidities associated with pre-eclampsia, preterm births, and Cesarean deliveries.

In 2021, I initiated a dialogue with ActiveHealth Management’s medical leadership about enhancing its program through the integration of community health workers. My suggestion was met with resentment and rejection. They stated they would do no more than their contract requires.

The State will issue a new RFP in 2025 and likely renew ActiveHealth Management’s contract. It should seriously consider reducing the value of the contract and redirecting a substantial amount of funding to the Mississippi Department of Health’s Community Health Worker Program.

The MS Department of Health could train, certify, and strategically deploy community health workers across the State to deliver evidence based, maternity services, which would be more feasible and effective than ActiveHealth Management’s telephonic/virtual program.

— Getty Israel, MPH, is a population health specialist in the Jackson area.

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Mississippi

Renowned New York dance instructor visits Mississippi to recruit for summer program

Published

7 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Renowned New York dance instructor visits Mississippi to recruit for summer program

LAUREL, Miss. (WDAM) – A world-renowned dance instructor from New York visited Laurel Thursday to conduct a special class and do some recruiting for a prestigious summer dance program in the Big Apple.

Melanie Person, who is co-director of the Ailey School in New York, taught a master ballet class Thursday morning at Laurel Middle School.

It’s part of a three-day residency in the Magnolia State, organized by the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience in Meridian.

She’ll teach two other classes Friday in Meridian before hosting an audition Saturday for a prestigious summer dance program at the Ailey School.

“I typically tour in about six to eight cities in the U.S., and I recruit dancers to come to our summer intensive, so part of this weekend, in one of the classes, I will be accepting students to come to New York for our five-week summer intensive,” Person said.

“We accept the dancers we like, and we see if they are able to come. The decision to come to New York for the summer is a big undertaking for families, so we just hope that they can do it.”

Registration is required for that audition, which will be held at the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience.

To do that, click HERE.

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Mississippi

No. 12 Mississippi State’s Balance Shows Again in Road Win at Georgia Tech

Published

20 hours ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

No. 12 Mississippi State’s Balance Shows Again in Road Win at Georgia Tech

Mississippi State has won plenty of different ways during this 15-1 start, but Wednesday night in Atlanta felt like one of those games where the Bulldogs reminded everyone why they’ve looked so steady all month.

It wasn’t perfect, and it wasn’t stress‑free, but the 8-3 win over Georgia Tech was the kind of road win that shows a team knows exactly who it is and what buttons to push when things get a little weird.

Alyssa Faircloth set the tone again, even on a night when she didn’t have her cleanest beginning. She gave up a game‑tying homer in the second, shrugged, and then basically disappeared Georgia Tech’s lineup for the next three innings.

Eight strikeouts in nine batters the second time through the order, back‑to‑back innings striking out the side. The only real hiccup came on another leadoff homer in the sixth, and by then she’d already done the heavy lifting.

And while Faircloth was settling in, the lineup did what it’s been doing all year: spreading the damage around.

Des Rivera wasted no time, jumping on the first pitch of the second inning and sending it out. When Georgia Tech tied it, Nadia Barbary answered immediately with a solo shot of her own. It wasn’t loud or flashy, but it was the kind of response good teams make without thinking.

The middle innings were more about pressure than power. Barbary worked a walk, Kiarra Sells split the gap for an RBI double, and Anna Carder did her job with a sac fly. Suddenly it was 4-1, and Mississippi State had the game exactly where it wanted it with Faircloth cruising, the lineup stacking quality at‑bats, and the defense staying clean.

The seventh inning, though, is where the Bulldogs turned a solid win into a comfortable one. Sells homered again, and then Rivera and Tatum Silva kept the inning alive long enough for Morgan Bernardini to drop the hammer. Her three‑run shot to center didn’t just put the game away; it capped off the kind of night she’s been stringing together for a week now. She’s 7‑for‑11 during her four‑game hitting streak and looks like a hitter who’s seeing everything in slow motion.

Peja Goold handled the final outs, picking up her second save and slamming the door on a Georgia Tech team that kept trying to make things interesting late.

What stands out most about this win isn’t the four homers or the 11 strikeouts or even the 15-1 record. It’s how routine it all felt.

Mississippi State went on the road, took a couple of punches, and never looked rattled. Rivera homered. Barbary homered. Sells homered. Bernardini homered. Faircloth dominated. Goold closed. It was the same formula, just in a different ballpark.

Now the Bulldogs head to Clemson for a weekend that should tell us even more about who they are. But if Wednesday night is any indication, they’re traveling with a lineup that can hurt you anywhere and a pitching staff that doesn’t mind carrying the load when needed.

DAWG FEED:

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Mississippi

Mississippi Lottery Mississippi Match 5, Cash 3 results for Feb. 25, 2026

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Mississippi Lottery Mississippi Match 5, Cash 3 results for Feb. 25, 2026

The Mississippi Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at Feb. 25, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Mississippi Match 5 numbers from Feb. 25 drawing

02-06-09-16-17

Check Mississippi Match 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash 3 numbers from Feb. 25 drawing

Midday: 4-6-6, FB: 6

Evening: 4-3-5, FB: 9

Check Cash 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash 4 numbers from Feb. 25 drawing

Midday: 0-7-2-8, FB: 6

Evening: 6-3-6-1, FB: 9

Check Cash 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash Pop numbers from Feb. 25 drawing

Midday: 10

Evening: 12

Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Story continues below gallery.

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

Winnings of $599 or less can be claimed at any authorized Mississippi Lottery retailer.

Prizes between $600 and $99,999, may be claimed at the Mississippi Lottery Headquarters or by mail. Mississippi Lottery Winner Claim form, proper identification (ID) and the original ticket must be provided for all claims of $600 or more. If mailing, send required documentation to:

Mississippi Lottery Corporation

P.O. Box 321462

Flowood, MS

39232

If your prize is $100,000 or more, the claim must be made in person at the Mississippi Lottery headquarters. Please bring identification, such as a government-issued photo ID and a Social Security card to verify your identity. Winners of large prizes may also have the option of setting up electronic funds transfer (EFT) for direct deposits into a bank account.

Mississippi Lottery Headquarters

1080 River Oaks Drive, Bldg. B-100

Flowood, MS

39232

Mississippi Lottery prizes must be claimed within 180 days of the drawing date. For detailed instructions and necessary forms, please visit the Mississippi Lottery claim page.

When are the Mississippi Lottery drawings held?

Cash 3: Daily at 2:30 p.m. (Midday) and 9:30 p.m. (Evening).
Cash 4: Daily at 2:30 p.m. (Midday) and 9:30 p.m. (Evening).
Match 5: Daily at 9:30 p.m. CT.
Cash Pop: Daily at 2:30 p.m. (Midday) and 9:30 p.m. (Evening).

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Mississippi editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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