Mississippi Today

Greenwood hospital, long on the financial brink, may be on its last breath

Published

1 year ago

September 15, 2023

After clawing itself out of closure several months ago, Greenwood Leflore Hospital once again faces that reality after being denied money from the county.

The hospital, one of the largest in the Mississippi Delta that has drawn national attention for its struggles over the past year, was bled dry by the pandemic. To keep its doors open, Greenwood Leflore Hospital has shut down departments, applied for grants and pursued a new federal designation aimed at bringing in more money. It’s even gone up for lease again after a potential agreement fell through last year.

Additionally, in early April, the Leflore County Board of Supervisors voted to obtain a $10 million line of credit to support the hospital. At the time, the hospital said that money would allow them to stay open until 2024.

But one by one in recent days, nearly all those backstops have crumbled.

State grant money that was previously promised has proven difficult for hospitals to get their hands on, if at all. As of August no grant money has been awarded. And last month, the regional Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services office denied the hospital’s application to become a critical access hospital, which would allow them to be reimbursed by Medicare at a higher rate.

Though the application is still being considered on the federal level and hospital administration insists that the decision from the regional office was expected, it’s largely why the Leflore County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday voted 3-2 against the hospital’s request to draw down $1 million from that line of credit to cover hospital payroll in September.

Now, hospital administration say they have enough cash to pay employees until the end of the month. Beyond that, hospital leaders say the future is uncertain.

Interim CEO Gary Marchand said the board of supervisors’ decision came as a surprise.

“We have disclosed all our efforts to sustain hospital services and (are) trying to understand what changed the county’s thinking about the path we have all been on together,” he said.

Greenwood Mayor Carolyn McAdams was also baffled and called the move “reckless.”

“I don’t understand why they did that,” she said. “The whole point of the line of credit was for the hospital to use that money to make payroll until a long-term solution could be found.”

But Supervisor Reggie Moore, who voted against the hospital’s request, said the board is just acting on the desires of their constituents who don’t want the board to put “more money on a burning fire that leads to a tax increase.”

“What do you do when you have the Pharaoh’s army behind you and the Red Sea in front of you?” he said.

Moore said the board announced they were holding a meeting earlier this week, and they wanted to hear from the hospital board, hospital administrators and city officials to collaborate on a long-term plan before they took on additional credit. Most of those stakeholders didn’t show up, and Moore said he still hasn’t heard from any of them since Wednesday’s vote. Only Marchand, the hospital CFO and one person attended the Wednesday special meeting, Moore said.

“We want to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars,” Moore said. “I just didn’t feel comfortable with turning loose another $1.3 million on the hospital without more answers.”

The hospital has already withdrawn $5 million of the total $10 million. Moore said that the board would consider approving a new request for some of the credit in the future, but not until there’s more collaboration and strategy. He said he sees the hospital’s reliance on the critical access designation as shortsighted.

Hospital administration won’t hear if their critical access application is accepted for several months. Moore said if they’re denied, the hospital will be out of options.

Marchand previously told Mississippi Today that he was not considering suggestions of a consultant hired by the county to improve the hospital’s finances, including cutting administrative pay.

“Then there’s no healthcare, and there’s no plan,” he said. “It’s almost criminal, isn’t it? Because it is 2023, and every citizen … deserves access to good health care. We’re not a third world country, but the Delta is turning into a healthcare desert. And no one seems to be concerned.”

He cited the hospital’s small census count — which hovers between 10-20 patients at a time.

“Without critical access designation and a restructuring of the leadership, there’s a high chance the hospital closes,” Moore said.

Robert Collins, another supervisor who voted to deny the hospital’s request, cited how much money the hospital is losing each month, which Marchand confirmed was around $1 million.

“They’re steady losing a million dollars a month,” Collins said. “That’s just too much. Critical access wouldn’t even save them.”

Moore stressed that closure was not his nor the board’s intention with their vote on Wednesday. When pressed on the hospital’s importance to the community, Moore interrupted to say the hospital held personal significance for him, too — it’s where he was born and where he worked for almost a decade.

“No one cares about the hospital more than myself,” he said. “But it is my obligation and my duty to listen to constituents.”

However, despite the board’s intention, closure might be the reality the hospital now faces.

One report puts nearly half of the state’s rural hospitals at risk of closure, and when hospitals close, the effects reverberate, especially in rural communities.

Sen. David Jordan, D-Greenwood said the hospital’s closure would be “devastating.”

“This is a frightening situation to those of us who live here in this town and county,” he said. “People are already sick and dying. We’re already losing so much population, and people don’t want to move to towns where they can’t get health services. It’s going to be just a total tragedy to our community.”

In a memo to staff on Thursday, Marchand said the hospital was “assessing its legal options” and still awaiting final decision from CMS on its critical access application.

By the time they hear the final decision, it’s not certain that the hospital will still be open.

When pressed on Thursday about the likelihood of the hospital’s closure, Collins conceded it was a possibility. He said he hopes the hospital comes up with a plan, but he couldn’t offer any suggestions beyond that.

Collins cut the phone interview short, saying he was on the golf course and in the middle of a swing.

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

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.biloxinewsevents.com/?p=287865

Post Views: 605

Related Topics:Featured Mississippi News Mississippi Today News

Up Next

Mississippi politicians have long history of opposing efforts to provide health care for their citizens

Don't Miss

Tate Reeves camp says they’re working to schedule debate with Brandon Presley

Mississippi Today

Senate panel weighs how much — or whether — to cut state taxes

Published

9 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Staff Editor

mississippitoday.org – Taylor Vance – 2024-11-04 15:42:00

A group of state senators on Monday grappled with how much to slash state taxes or if they should cut them at all, portending a major policy debate at the Capitol for next year’s legislative session.

The Senate Fiscal Policy Study Group solicited testimony from the state government’s leading experts on budget, economic and tax policies to prepare for an almost certain intense debate in January over how much they should trim state taxes while balancing the need to fund government services.

Senate Finance Chairman Josh Harkins, a Republican from Flowood whose committee has jurisdiction over tax policy, told Mississippi Today that he wanted senators to have basic facts in front of them before they help decide next year if Mississippi should cut taxes.

“We’re getting a tax cut the next two years whether we do anything or not,” Harkins said. “I just want to make sure we have all the facts in front of people to understand we have a clear picture of how much revenue we’re bringing in.”

Mississippi is already phasing in a major tax cut. After a raucous debate in 2022, lawmakers agreed to phase in an income tax cut. In two years it will leave Mississippi with a flat 4% tax on income over $10,000, one of the lowest rates in the nation.

However, the top two legislative leaders, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann who oversees the Senate and House Speaker Jason White, have both recently said they want legislators to consider new tax cut policies.

Hosemann, the Republican leader of the Senate, has publicly said he would like to see the state’s grocery tax, the highest of its kind in the nation, reduced, though he hasn’t specified how much of a reduction or how long it would take for the cut to be implemented.

White, a Republican from West, said last week that he would like to see the state’s 4% income tax phased out and have the state’s 7% grocery tax cut in half over time.

“We are hoping to construct a tax system that, yes, prioritizes certain needs in our state, but it also protects and rewards taxpayers,” White said last week.

But it’s difficult to collect accurate data on the state’s grocery tax, and state lawmakers must grapple with a laundry list of spending needs and obligations based on testimony from state agency leaders on Monday.

Mississippi currently has a 7% sales tax, which is applied to groceries. The state collects the tax but remits 18.5% back to cities. For many municipalities, the sales tax is a significant source of revenue.

If state lawmakers want to reduce the grocery tax without impacting cities, they could pass a new law to change the diversion amounts or appropriate enough money to make the municipalities whole.

State Revenue Commissioner Chris Graham said the Mississippi Department of Revenue, the agency in charge of collecting state taxes, does not have a mechanism in place for accurately capturing how much money cities collect in grocery taxes. This is because the tax on groceries is the same as non-grocery items.

However, Graham estimates that the state collects roughly $540 million in taxes from grocery items.

The other problem lawmakers would have in implementing significant tax cuts is a growing list of spending needs in Mississippi, a state with abject poverty, water and sewer and other infrastructure woes and some of the worst health metrics in the nation.

Representatives from the Legislative Budget Office, the group that advises lawmakers on tax and spending policy, told senators that lawmakers will also be faced with rising costs in the public employee retirement system, the Medicaid budget, public education, state employee health insurance, and state infrastructure projects.

State agencies, including the employee retirement system, also requested $751 million more for the coming budget year.

“That’s the billion dollar question, I guess,” Senate Appropriations Chairman Briggs Hopson, a Republican from Vicksburg, said. “How we’re able to fund basic government services?”

Harkins and Hopson said the committee would likely meet again before the Legislature convenes for its 2025 session on January 7.

A House committee on tax cuts has also been holding hearings, and White in September held a summit on tax policy.

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

Post Views: 29

Mississippi Today

Already dire lack of affordable housing for low-income Mississippians on verge of worsening

Published

13 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Staff Editor

mississippitoday.org – Simeon Gates – 2024-11-04 11:00:00

In Mississippi, where there’s already a dearth of 50,000 or more affordable homes for extremely low-income residents, that number could grow in the next five years.

Housing units available under the federal Low Income Tax Credit program could lose their affordability by 2030 –a number estimated nationwide to be 350,000 with 2,917 in Mississippi, alone; 496 in the state already have.

The federal program responsible for most of the nation’s affordable housing is expiring.

The Low Income Housing Tax Credit, introduced as part of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, provides for developers to buy, build and restore low-income housing units. Under the deal, the housing only needs to stay low-rent for 30 years. Construction began in the early 1990s.

Some LIHTC housing will remain affordable due to other subsidies, nonprofits, state law and individual landlords.

“I think the low-income housing tax credit has done everything that it can to address the need for affordable housing around the state,” said Scott Spivey, executive director of the Mississippi Housing Corporation, a state office that administers the program and works with the state government and those in the affordable housing industry to create and support affordable housing

Spivey supports the proposed Affordable Housing Credit and Improvement Act, a federal bill that would expand upon the low-income housing tax credit in several ways, including giving developers more credit for certain projects for low-income households and changing tenant eligibility rules.

The bill was introduced in the House and the Senate last session, and is co-sponsored by Mississippi Sens. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Roger Wicker and in the House by Reps. Mike Ezell, and Michael Guest. As of this spring, both bills are in committee.

While housing has become a major issue for Americans, getting legislation passed has been challenging. “Everybody knows that housing is an issue, but it gets caught up with everything else…and it kind of gets lost in the shuffle,” said Spivey.

This issue is especially important in Mississippi, where demand for housing is high across all incomes.

“All the market studies that we see that come with the applications tell us that there’s a huge need for affordable housing across the state at all the income bands” said Spivey.

According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, almost a third of Mississippi renters are extremely low income; 65% of them are severely cost burdened, meaning they spent more than half their income on rent. The majority of these households are seniors, disabled people, single caregivers of young children, people enrolled in school, or other.

Director of Housing Law at the Mississippi Center for Justice, Ashley Richardson said housing problems worsened after Mississippi stopped participating in the federal rental assistance program in 2022.

MCJ’s work on housing includes a statewide eviction hotline, investigating instances of housing discrimination, and more.

Richardson praised the LIHTC program, but echoed Spivey’s concerns. “Even with the affordable housing we do have in Mississippi, we are still at a lack,” she said.

The National Housing Preservation Database estimates Mississippi is short 52,421 affordable and available rental homes for low-income people. The National Low Income Housing Coalition puts the figure at 49,478.

Richardson wants the state to deal with issues like providing more tenant protections and rental assistance. There’s also a need to improve homes that are rundown or in poor condition, and many housing nonprofits are running out of funding.

Spivey said people should talk to their property managers and learn about their rights. MHC’s website has resources for homebuyers and renters.

As the housing crisis goes on, there are options for people struggling to find and keep affordable housing and an effort to take action at the federal and state levels.

Some aspiring low-income homeowners may qualify for Habitat for Humanity, a program that builds homes for families in need. Families who qualify work on the homes alongside volunteers, pay an affordable mortgage and receive financial literacy education.

New applicants must meet the qualifications, including a good debt-income ratio, 125 hours of sweat equity and taking classes on financial literacy, home repairs, and being a good neighbor.

Merrill McKewen, executive director for Habitat for Humanity Mississippi Capital Area, emphasized the importance of housing to individuals and communities.

“There are untold studies that have been done that, you’ve gotta have a safe, decent, affordable place to live. The children are better students, the parents are better employees…it grounds you to a community that you can contribute to and be a part of. It is the American dream, to own a home, which is what we’re all about,” she said.

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

Post Views: 41

Mississippi Today

Mississippi Election 2024: What will be on Tuesday’s ballot?

Published

14 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Staff Editor

mississippitoday.org – Bobby Harrison – 2024-11-04 10:00:00

Mississippians will go to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 5, to elect federal and state judicial posts and some local offices, such as for election commissioners and school board members.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday. To find your polling place, use the secretary of state’s locator, or call your local county circuit clerk.

The following is a list of the candidates for federal and judicial posts with brief bios:

President

Kamala Harris, current vice president and Democratic nominee for president. Her running mate is Tim Walz.
Donald Trump, former president and current Republican nominee. His running mate is J.D. Vance.
Robert Kennedy Jr. remains on the ballot in Mississippi even though he has endorsed Trump. His running mate is Nicole Shanahan.
Jill Stein is the Green Party candidate. Her running mate is Rudolph Ware.
Five other candidates will be on the Mississippi ballot for president. For a complete list of presidential candidates, see the sample ballot.

U.S. Senate

Ty Pinkins is the Democratic nominee. He is a Rolling Fork native and attorney, representing, among other clients, those alleging unfair working conditions. He served 21 years in the U.S. Army, including combat stints, other overseas deployment and posts in the White House,
Roger Wicker is the Republican incumbent senator. He resides in Tupelo and has served in the U.S. Senate since late 2007 after first being appointed to fill a vacancy by then-Gov. Haley Barbour. He was elected to the post in 2008. He previously served in the U.S. House and as a state senator. He is an attorney and served in the United States Air Force.

House District 1

Dianne Black is the Democratic nominee. She is a small business owner in Olive Branch in DeSoto County.
Trent Kelly is the Republican incumbent. He was elected to the post in a special election in 2015. He previously served as a district attorney and before then as a prosecuting attorney for the city of Tupelo. He is a major general in the Mississippi Army National Guard.

House District 2

Bennie Thompson is the Democratic incumbent. He was first elected to the post in 1993. Before then, he served as a Hinds County supervisor and as alderman and then as mayor of Bolton.
Ronald Eller is the Republican nominee. He grew up in West Virginia and moved to central Mississippi after retiring from the military. He is a physician assistant and business owner.

House District 3

Michael Guest is the Republican incumbent and is unopposed.

House District 4

Mike Ezell is the Republican incumbent first being elected in 2022. He previously served as Jackson County sheriff.
Craig Raybon is the Democratic nominee. Raybon is from Gulfport and began a nonprofit “focused on helping out the community as a whole.”

Central District Supreme Court

Jenifer Branning currently serves as a member of the state Senate from Neshoba County.
Byron Carter is a Hinds County attorney and previously served as a law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Armis Hawkins.
James Kitchens is the incumbent. He has served on the state’s highest court since 2008.
Ceola James previously served on the Court of Appeals.
Abby Gale Robinson is a Jackson attorney. She previously was a commercial builder.

Southern District Supreme Court

Dawn Beam is the incumbent, having been first appointed in 2016 by then-Gov. Phil Bryant and later winning election to the post. She is a former chancellor for the Hattiesburg area.
David Sullivan is an attorney in Harrison County and has been a municipal judge in D’Iberville since 2019. His father, Michael, previously served on the state Supreme Court.

Northern District Supreme Court seats

Robert Chamberlin of DeSoto County is unopposed.
James Maxwell of Lafayette County is unopposed.

Court of Appeals 5^th District seat

Ian Baker is an assistant district attorney in Harrison County.
Jennifer Schloegel is a Chancery Court judge for Harrison, Hancock and Stone counties.
Amy St. Pe is a Municipal Court judge in Gautier.