Medicaid cuts could lead to 8 Mississippi hospitals closing. See why
How Trump’s sweeping tax, spending, policy bill affect Medicaid
The House of Representatives passed President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax, spending and policy bill, and Medicaid is expected to be heavily impacted.
- Eight rural Mississippi hospitals are at risk of closing due to financial strain.
- The hospitals are at risk because of low Medicaid payer mix and/or consecutive years of negative profit margins.
- Recent healthcare legislation reducing Medicaid funding is expected to exacerbate the financial challenges faced by these hospitals.
- Medicaid is a significant source of healthcare coverage for Mississippi residents, particularly kids and those in rural areas.
Eight rural Mississippi hospitals are considered “at risk” of closing, according a report from a reputable center for health services research.
U.S. senators requested a list of the rural hospitals from each state from the center and attached it in a letter to President Donald Trump, among others.
Here are the hospitals in Mississippi and why they’re being considered.
How is “at-risk” of closing defined?
A rural hospital is labeled as at risk when it meets one or both of two criteria, according to the documents: the hospital is in the top 10% Medicaid payer mix of rural hospitals across the country, and that the hospital has experienced three consecutive years of negative total margin.
What hospitals are at-risk in Mississippi?
Here are the eight hospitals deemed at-risk in Mississippi:
- Alliance Healthcare System, Holly Springs.
- Delta Health-Northwest Regional, Clarksdale.
- Baptist Memorial Hospital-Booneville, Booneville.
- Greenwood Leflore Hospital, Greenwood.
- Baptist Anderson Regional Medical Center, Meridian.
- Highland Community Hospital, Picayune.
- Panola Medical Center, Batesville.
- Baptist Memorial Hospital-Yazoo, Yazoo City.
Alliance in Holly Springs was among the 10% Medicaid payer mix. All of the others had a negative total margin for three consecutive years. Only one on the list — Panola Medical Center — met both criteria.
What center for health services research released the info?
The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research is part of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The center, according to their site, seeks to improve the health of individuals, families, and populations by understanding the problems, issues, and alternatives in the design and delivery of health care services.
What was the purpose of the letter?
U.S. Sens Edward J. Markey, Ron Wyden, Jeffrey A. Merkley, and Charles E. Schumer wrote to President Trump, Majority Leader John Thune, and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson in response to the reconciliation package that ultimately Trump signed on the Fourth of July. They sent the letter on June 12.
The senators argued that the health care cuts could impact vulnerable, rural hospitals.
“Enacting these drastic health care cuts that will kick millions of people off their health insurance coverage, rural hospitals will not get paid for the services they are required by law to provide to patients,” authors wrote, adding that the hospitals will face “deeper financial strain that could lead to negative health outcomes for the communities they serve.”
What will the legislation do?
The bill, now signed into law, is projected to cut $1 trillion mostly from Medicaid and Affordable Care Act insurance plans and eliminate insurance coverage for 11.8 million people over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, as reported by USA Today.
How many people in Mississippi get Medicaid?
According to KFF, formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation, about 667,000 people in Mississippi get health care via Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
Total spending in the state is $6.3 billion, and about $5.2 billion comes from federal funding.
More than half of recipients (52%) are kids, and most (58%) live in rural areas.
According to KFF, Medicaid in Mississippi covers:
- 74% of nursing home residents.
- 57% of births.
- 48% of children.
- 38% of working adults with disabilities.
- 26% of Medicare beneficiaries.
- 14% of adults ages 19-64.
More than half of adult Medicaid recipients in Mississippi — 58% — are working, per KFF.
Tom Ackerman covers breaking news and trending news along with general news for the Springfield State Journal-Register. He can be reached at [email protected].
Bonnie Bolden is the Deep South Connect reporter for Mississippi with Gannett/USA Today. Email her at [email protected].
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