Category: News

Two senior staff members of Greenwood Leflore Hospital are in favor of Mississippi expanding its Medicaid program, saying that the expansion would not only benefit the hospital but also increase health care services to people who can not afford them. The Greenwood Commonweatlh, Read More.

When Michael Hogan was appointed by a federal judge to help craft a road map for the future of Mississippi’s embattled mental health care system, he planned to tour community mental health centers in-person to see the state’s services in action. He hoped to speak to patients and employees — perspectives he said would be vital in charting the Department of Mental Health’s path forward. AP News, Read More.

Mississippi public-health officials are urging some vaccinated residents to begin wearing masks again and to avoid large crowds as the more contagious COVID-19 Delta variant spreads across the state. “We’re kind of in a tough spot right now. We’re seeing a pretty nasty surge of the Delta variant. We’re seeing a marked increase in cases, hospitalizations. Deaths are sure to follow,” Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said during a livecast Mississippi State Medical Association discussion on Friday. MS Free Press, Read More.

In new guidance Friday, the state health department signaled that Mississippi has entered another dangerous phase of the COVID-19 pandemic as the delta variant spreads. State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs wrote on Twitter that the health department is making the following recommendations through July 26:The Sun Herald, Read More.

Three Democratic U.S. senators from states that have refused to expand Medicaid want the federal government to set up a mirror plan to provide health insurance coverage to people in those states. Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff of Georgia and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin are introducing the bill Monday, they told The Associated Press. Congressional Democrats are pushing for a coverage expansion in upcoming legislation.AP News, Read More.

​Only a quarter of nursing homes and assisted living communities are confident they can remain open for another year or more, reports The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living. The findings come from the organization’s most recent survey of U.S. skilled nursing centers, assisted living communities, and sub-acute centers and homes. Becker’s Hospital Review, Read More.

More than half of unvaccinated Americans live in households that make less than $50,000 annually, according to the latest Census Bureau data.Why it matters: Making it easier for the working poor to get the COVID-19 vaccine, without dinging their already-low incomes, could help boost the country’s vaccination rates.The big picture: Vaccination has been politicized, but juggling work schedules and child care could be bigger factors than politics.Axois, Read More.

There are more than 2 million people across the United States who have no option when it comes to health insurance. They’re in what’s known as the “coverage gap” — they don’t qualify for Medicaid in their state, and make too little money to be eligible for subsidized health plans on the Affordable Care Act insurance exchanges.Briana Wright is one of those people. She’s 27, lives near Jackson, Miss., works at McDonalds, and doesn’t have health insurance. So to figure out her options when she recently learned she needed to have surgery to remove her gallbladder, she called Health Help Mississippi, a nonprofit that helps people enroll in health insurances.NPR, Read More.

Scott Waller, president of the state’s chamber of commerce, said business leaders are likely to weigh in on the politically charged issue of Medicaid expansion before next year’s legislative session.“At the end of the day a healthy workforce is a vital component of moving our state and economy forward,” Waller, president of the Mississippi Economic Council said on Thursday. “… We understand access to health care is a big issue in our state, and also how to deal with uncompensated care.”Mississippi Today, Read More.

Last year, DeeDee Baldwin, a history research librarian at Mississippi State University, saw firsthand how her community came together to keep each other safe during the pandemic. The faculty asked for a classroom mask mandate, the provost made it happen. It seemed to Baldwin like the custodial staff were always on campus. Professors worked with students who missed assignments or couldn’t come to class. Mississippi Today, Read More.