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A legislative error derailed a plan that should’ve sent millions to struggling hospitals. Who messed up?

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2 years ago

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An error made in the Senate Appropriations Committee and passed into law earlier this year is keeping most Mississippi hospitals from accessing $103 million intended to help keep their doors open.

The Mississippi Hospital Sustainability Grant program, part of a package of plans championed by Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann to stem Mississippi’s health care crisis, was supposed to quickly send millions to hospitals to help them survive the year. One report puts nearly half of rural hospitals in danger of closing because of budget concerns.

But now, months later, that money hasn’t gone out and only a few hospitals can qualify because lawmakers funded the program with federal pandemic money.

The problem, according to health care officials, is that lawmakers designated the funding for the program to come from federal COVID-19 relief funds. Because of federal restrictions about how those funds can be administered, most hospitals do not qualify to receive them. Had lawmakers funded the program with state dollars instead of federal dollars, hospitals likely could draw the funds without issue.

Here’s how the legislative process unfolded, and how lawmakers changed the funding source over time:

  • House Bill 271 was authored by Republican Rep. Sam Mims of McComb and originally sought to fund the program with federal American Rescue Plan Act funds.
  • House leaders during the committee process amended the bill to instead be funded by state dollars via the Capital Expense Fund, where the Legislature’s excess revenue from prior fiscal years are housed. The House passed that version of the bill on February 16 and sent it to the Senate for consideration.
  • In the Senate Appropriations Committee on March 9, before the bill reached the Senate floor, leaders amended the bill to change the funding source to federal funds once more — despite a record state revenue surplus of about $3.6 billion.
  • That amended bill featuring the federal funding was later passed by the entire Senate on March 9.
  • The House sent the amended bill to a conference committee, where three leaders from both the House and the Senate met to hash out differences. The bill that made it through the conference committee process kept the federal funding source intact, and the total hospital grant program featured in the bill was upped to $103 million.
  • Both chambers of the Legislature passed that final version on March 31, and Gov. Tate Reeves signed the bill into law on April 17.

It’s not exactly clear which senator pushed for the change to the program’s funding from state to federal. While subcommittee meetings are open, closed door meetings, where major legislative proposals are often made, are common in the Legislature. The state budgeting process, in particular, routinely operates outside public view.

Sen. Kevin Blackwell, R-Southaven, presented House Bill 271 as the first piece of legislation the Senate Appropriations Committee discussed on March 9.

Blackwell said in that committee meeting that the bill’s funding would likely need to be increased. Sen. Briggs Hopson, R-Vicksburg, who chairs the powerful committee, then explained that additional funds might have to come from another source outside of the federal COVID-19 funds before the bill passed the committee.

A recording of the March 9 meeting shows that discussion about the bill was brief, and the amendment to the funding’s source was unanimously passed by the committee members.

Blackwell, Hopson, and Sen. John Polk, a Republican from Hattiesburg and the vice chair of the committee, did not answer calls or return requests for comment.

Hosemann, who wields great influence over the legislative process as the president of the Senate, did not say when it became clear to him the federal funding was causing problems in the program.

“The intent of the Legislature was to provide $103 million to hospitals and Lt. Gov. Hosemann has committed to ensuring they receive it, even if the program or appropriation source has to be changed,” said Leah Smith, Hosemann’s deputy chief of staff.

Though the error was made in the Senate committee, there were multiple opportunities over several weeks and votes for legislative leaders, members of both the Senate and House, and Gov. Reeves to catch the problem.

In the months that have followed, it’s become clear how much the program — and hospitals — have been impacted by that error.

State Health Officer Dr. Daniel Edney told legislators on Sept. 29 at a Joint Legislative Budget Committee meeting that just two-thirds of Mississippi hospitals have applied so far, and only half of them are eligible for the money. That’s because they’ve already received federal pandemic relief funds.

“You can’t double dip,” Edney explained to Mississippi Today earlier this week.

Edney told Mississippi Today on Oct. 4 that the health department had been “given some possible hope that a workaround we had previously hoped for might be possible after all.” It’s not clear what that workaround is.

“We’re all still working on the problem,” he said.

Even though the $103 million was much less than hospital leaders said they needed, they agreed any amount would help the state’s hospitals.

Edney said the health department raised concerns about the funding’s source during the session, but it appeared at the Sept. 29 meeting that lawmakers had previously been unaware of how widespread the accessibility issues were, and that the health department needed legislative direction before doling out the funds.

He made clear at the meeting that the health department, which was awarded $700,000 to disburse the funds, needs instruction from elected officials about what to do with the money — either send out the $103 million to a portion of hospitals now, or wait and fix the program in January.

It’s not clear how long some hospitals can hold on.

At least one hospital has closed this year, and several others have applied for a federal designation that slashes services but increases reimbursements and monthly federal payments. Others, Edney said, have been forced to reduce or cut the services they offer.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

1964: Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party was formed

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15 hours ago

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April 26, 2025

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mississippitoday.org – @MSTODAYnews – 2025-04-26 07:00:00

by Jerry Mitchell, Mississippi Today
April 26, 2025

April 26, 1964

Aaron Henry testifies before the Credentials Committee at the 1964 Democratic National Convention.

Civil rights activists started the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party to challenge the state’s all-white regular delegation to the Democratic National Convention. 

The regulars had already adopted this resolution: “We oppose, condemn and deplore the Civil Rights Act of 1964 … We believe in separation of the races in all phases of our society. It is our belief that the separation of the races is necessary for the peace and tranquility of all the people of Mississippi, and the continuing good relationship which has existed over the years.” 

In reality, Black Mississippians had been victims of intimidation, harassment and violence for daring to try and vote as well as laws passed to disenfranchise them. As a result, by 1964, only 6% of Black Mississippians were permitted to vote. A year earlier, activists had run a mock election in which thousands of Black Mississippians showed they would vote if given an opportunity. 

In August 1964, the Freedom Party decided to challenge the all-white delegation, saying they had been illegally elected in a segregated process and had no intention of supporting President Lyndon B. Johnson in the November election. 

The prediction proved true, with white Mississippi Democrats overwhelmingly supporting Republican candidate Barry Goldwater, who opposed the Civil Rights Act. While the activists fell short of replacing the regulars, their courageous stand led to changes in both parties.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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Mississippi River flooding Vicksburg, expected to crest on Monday

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1 day ago

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April 25, 2025

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mississippitoday.org – @alxrzr – 2025-04-25 16:04:00

by Alex Rozier, Mississippi Today
April 25, 2025

Warren County Emergency Management Director John Elfer said Friday floodwaters from the Mississippi River, which have reached homes in and around Vicksburg, will likely persist until early May. Elfer estimated there areabout 15 to 20 roads underwater in the area.

A truck sits in high water after the owner parked, then boated to his residence on Chickasaw Road in Vicksburg as a rising Mississippi River causes backwater flooding, Friday, April 25, 2025.

“We’re about half a foot (on the river gauge) from a major flood,” he said. “But we don’t think it’s going to be like in 2011, so we can kind of manage this.”

The National Weather projects the river to crest at 49.5 feet on Monday, making it the highest peak at the Vicksburg gauge since 2020. Elfer said some residents in north Vicksburg — including at the Ford Subdivision as well as near Chickasaw Road and Hutson Street — are having to take boats to get home, adding that those who live on the unprotected side of the levee are generally prepared for flooding.

A rising Mississippi River causing backwater flooding near Chickasaw Road in Vicksburg, Friday, April 25, 2025.
Old tires aligned a backyard as a deterrent to rising water north of Vicksburg along U.S. 61, Friday, April 25, 2025.
As the Mississippi River rises, backwater flooding creeps towards a home located on Falk Steel Road in Vicksburg, Friday, April 25, 2025.

“There are a few (inundated homes), but we’ve mitigated a lot of them,” he said. “Some of the structures have been torn down or raised. There are a few people that still live on the wet side of the levee, but they kind of know what to expect. So we’re not too concerned with that.”

The river first reached flood stage in the city — 43 feet — on April 14. State officials closed Highway 465, which connects the Eagle Lake community just north of Vicksburg to Highway 61, last Friday.

Flood waters along Kings Point Road in Vicksburg, Friday, April 25, 2025.

Elfer said the areas impacted are mostly residential and he didn’t believe any businesses have been affected, emphasizing that downtown Vicksburg is still safe for visitors. He said Warren County has worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency to secure pumps and barriers.

“Everybody thus far has been very cooperative,” he said. “We continue to tell people stay out of the flood areas, don’t drive around barricades and don’t drive around road close signs. Not only is it illegal, it’s dangerous.”

NWS projects the river to stay at flood stage in Vicksburg until May 6. The river reached its record crest of 57.1 feet in 2011.

The boat launch area is closed and shored up on Levee Street in Vicksburg as the Mississippi River rises, Friday, April 25, 2025.
The boat launch area (right) is closed and under water on Levee Street in Vicksburg as the Mississippi River rises, Friday, April 25, 2025.
City of Vicksburg workers shore up the bank along Levee Street as the Mississippi River rises, Friday, April 25, 2025.
The old pedestrian bridge spanning the Mississippi River in Vicksburg, Friday, April 25, 2025.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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With domestic violence law, victims ‘will be a number with a purpose,’ mother says

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1 day ago

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April 25, 2025

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mississippitoday.org – @MSTODAYnews – 2025-04-25 15:07:00

by Mina Corpuz, Mississippi Today
April 25, 2025

Joslin Napier. Carlos Collins. Bailey Mae Reed. 

They are among Mississippi domestic violence homicide victims whose family members carried their photos as the governor signed a bill that will establish a board to study such deaths and how to prevent them. 

Tara Gandy, who lost her daughter Napier in Waynesboro in 2022, said it’s a moment she plans to tell her 5-year-old grandson about when he is old enough. Napier’s presence, in spirit, at the bill signing can be another way for her grandson to feel proud of his mother. 

“(The board) will allow for my daughter and those who have already lost their lives to domestic violence … to no longer be just a number,” Gandy said. “They will be a number with a purpose.” 

Family members at the April 15 private bill signing included Ashla Hudson, whose son Collins, died last year in Jackson. Grandparents Mary and Charles Reed and brother Colby Kernell attended the event in honor of Bailey Mae Reed, who died in Oxford in 2023. 

Joining them were staff and board members from the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the statewide group that supports shelters and advocated for the passage of Senate Bill 2886 to form a Domestic Violence Facility Review Board. 

The law will go into effect July 1, and the coalition hopes to partner with elected officials who will make recommendations for members to serve on the board. The coalition wants to see appointees who have frontline experience with domestic violence survivors, said Luis Montgomery, public policy specialist for the coalition. 

A spokesperson from Gov. Tate Reeves’ office did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

Establishment of the board would make Mississippi the 45th state to review domestic violence fatalities. 

Montgomery has worked on passing a review board bill since December 2023. After an unsuccessful effort in 2024, the coalition worked to build support and educate people about the need for such a board. 

In the recent legislative session, there were House and Senate versions of the bill that unanimously passed their respective chambers. Authors of the bills are from both political parties. 

The review board is tasked with reviewing a variety of documents to learn about the lead up and circumstances in which people died in domestic violence-related fatalities, near fatalities and suicides – records that can include police records, court documents, medical records and more. 

From each review, trends will emerge and that information can be used for the board to make recommendations to lawmakers about how to prevent domestic violence deaths. 

“This is coming at a really great time because we can really get proactive,” Montgomery said. 

Without a board and data collection, advocates say it is difficult to know how many people have died or been injured in domestic-violence related incidents.

A Mississippi Today analysis found at least 300 people, including victims, abusers and collateral victims, died from domestic violence between 2020 and 2024. That analysis came from reviewing local news stories, the Gun Violence Archive, the National Gun Violence Memorial, law enforcement reports and court documents. 

Some recent cases the board could review are the deaths of Collins, Napier and Reed. 

In court records, prosecutors wrote that Napier, 24, faced increased violence after ending a relationship with Chance Fabian Jones. She took action, including purchasing a firearm and filing for a protective order against Jones.

Jones’s trial is set for May 12 in Wayne County. His indictment for capital murder came on the first anniversary of her death, according to court records. 

Collins, 25, worked as a nurse and was from Yazoo City. His ex-boyfriend Marcus Johnson has been indicted for capital murder and shooting into Collins’ apartment. Family members say Collins had filed several restraining orders against Johnson. 

Johnson was denied bond and remains in jail. His trial is scheduled for July 28 in Hinds County.  

He was a Jackson police officer for eight months in 2013. Johnson was separated from the department pending disciplinary action leading up to immediate termination, but he resigned before he was fired, Jackson police confirmed to local media. 

Reed, 21, was born and raised in Michigan and moved to Water Valley to live with her grandparents and help care for her cousin, according to her obituary. 

Kylan Jacques Phillips was charged with first degree murder for beating Reed, according to court records. In February, the court ordered him to undergo a mental evaluation to determine if he is competent to stand trial, according to court documents. 

At the bill signing, Gandy said it was bittersweet and an honor to meet the families of other domestic violence homicide victims.

“We were there knowing we are not alone, we can travel this road together and hopefully find ways to prevent and bring more awareness about domestic violence,” she said.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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