by Sophia Paffenroth, Mississippi Today
May 9, 2025

Mississippi moms will no longer be able to use Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi insurance to cover lactation services after they leave the hospital. 

The Lactation Network, a third-party biller that allows Mississippians with certain insurance to see non-physician lactation consultants, will no longer accept Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi patients. The network was previously subsidizing the unpaid portion of the claim for these moms’ visits, but it said that it can no longer afford to do so.  

The Lactation Network did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Mississippi Today by the time the story published.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi is the state’s largest private insurer. Lactation consultants and breastfeeding advocates worry the reduced coverage will worsen Mississippi’s breastfeeding rate – already one of the lowest in the country. The loss in coverage could have profound impacts on the health of mothers and children, experts say. 

“It’s such a complex puzzle of how to improve maternal and infant outcomes, but we know that breastfeeding is an integral, foundational part of that,” said Dr. Christina Glick, a retired neonatologist and lactation consultant in the Jackson area. “ … Lack of reimbursement will interfere with delivery of care, which will reduce breastfeeding rates.”

Breastfeeding has been proven to lower the incidence of diseases, infections and depression in both mother and baby. But it’s not always straightforward, and the list of potential challenges is not short: oversupply, undersupply, allergies and sensitivities, problems with pumping upon return to work, milk blisters and a host of other issues. Ninety-two percent of new mothers report having trouble breastfeeding three days postpartum and needing support.

Shay Bequette, a 25-year-old from Hattiesburg with Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance, overcame multiple hurdles to breastfeed her baby, born in January.

“I was struggling,” Bequette said. “I’m the first in my family to breastfeed. And my son was really small … I knew something was wrong intuitively, but I just couldn’t understand because I was producing (milk), but he was constantly crying. I was breastfeeding for an hour and a half on each side and he was still crying like he was in pain.”

Emotions and stakes are high for mothers learning to breastfeed. Moms who struggle to breastfeed often report feeling a sense of failure, while also facing intense pressure to make sure their baby is gaining adequate weight. 

Though she didn’t want to, Bequette considered switching to formula – and says she would have if she wasn’t able to access affordable lactation support. 

“I was losing my marbles, I was crying, I was frustrated,” Bequette said. “My whole family was like, ‘you know, you’re just going to have to switch to formula, obviously it’s not working.’”

Instead, Bequette found Maranda Nybo, an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) based in Pass Christian who expanded her practice to include a once-weekly trip to Hattiesburg. Bequette credits all of her current breastfeeding success to Nybo.

“She saved my sanity, and she saved his life,” said Bequette.

Now, Bequette will have to discontinue her care – and Nybo worries for the future of her practice, where she estimates between 80 and 90% of her clients use Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance.

“Sunday, Monday and (Tuesday) I’ve had 12 moms schedule appointments with me … every single one of them have been denied as of today,” Nybo told Mississippi Today. “All of them, except one, have canceled their appointments with me.”

The Lactation Network announced April 30 that working with certain insurance companies is no longer affordable.

“Historically, nearly 1 in 4 out-of-network visits that TLN covers go unpaid by health plans,” read an April 30 email from TLN to providers. “For a long time, we’ve subsidized the cost of care, hoping these plans would come around and reimburse us for this vital care. But that’s not sustainable — we can’t continue absorbing the costs that these plans should be covering.”

A spokesperson for Blue Cross Blue Shield Mississippi told Mississippi Today the company wasn’t aware of the changes and has no formal agreement with TLN. 

“Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Members continue to have access to lactation consultation services when they use a Network Provider,” a Blue Cross spokesperson said.

The only in-network lactation consultants currently covered by Blue Cross are physicians, who do not generally operate outpatient clinics focused solely on breastfeeding care.  

While new mothers usually get some form of support while they’re still in the hospital, most breastfeeding problems don’t develop until well after they leave, explained Erin Mattingly, a Jackson-based IBCLC. 

“I hear all the time that parents think breastfeeding is going fairly well in the hospital and then they get home and things fall apart,” she said. “And a lot of that is because during their time in the hospital, for the vast majority of mothers, their mature milk supply has not even arrived yet. So, it’s after the mature milk comes in that they start to have issues.”

After parents leave the hospital, the next appointment is typically scheduled two weeks later with a pediatrician. The majority of mothers who are struggling to breastfeed will give up if they don’t get help in that interim period, Mattingly said. 

Even if moms continue breastfeeding for those two weeks, they don’t always get comprehensive lactation support during the pediatric visit.

Bequette says when she broached the subject with her obstetrician and her pediatrician, each of them referred her to the other for guidance. That’s not unusual, according to Mattingly. 

“Doctors are fantastic at what they do, but they don’t have the same lactation training that lactation consultants have,” Mattingly said. “And in addition to that, they don’t have the time. If they have 10, 15 minutes with a patient, that’s not enough time to observe a feeding, problem solve what could be going on, and create a strategy going forward.”

An average lactation session with Mattingly or Nybo runs between 60 and 90 minutes and costs between $100 and $125 without insurance. 

That may be an affordable out-of-pocket cost to some, but it will put support out of reach for many moms who are already at a disadvantage for breastfeeding. 

“As a private practice, for me this is devastating,” Nybo said. “But it’s also really devastating for the moms.”

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

The post Blue Cross moms face out of pocket costs for breastfeeding help appeared first on mississippitoday.org

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Center-Left

The article presents a factual account of changes to insurance coverage for lactation services, focusing on the impact on mothers in Mississippi. It emphasizes the concerns of healthcare professionals and breastfeeding advocates, reflecting a concern for public health and access to necessary services. The use of expert opinions and emotional testimonials from affected individuals conveys a sympathetic view toward those negatively affected by the insurance policy change. While it presents various perspectives, the overall tone and framing lean toward highlighting the societal harm caused by the policy shift, particularly in a state with already low breastfeeding rates.

by Alex Rozier, Mississippi Today
May 9, 2025

The Tennessee Valley Authority, a federally created utility that sells wholesale power to local providers in the south including Mississippi, is suing the city of Holly Springs for breaching a contract by continuing to mismanage its electric department.

TVA, which has sold power to north Mississippi city since 1935, alleges Holly Springs breached a power contract between the two parties by taking funds from its utility department when it shouldn’t have, as well as by failing to make timely payments, increase its retail rates to customers, and provide regular financial updates to TVA.

That lawsuit, filed May 1 in the United States District Court in Oxford, lists as defendants: Holly Springs Mayor Sharon Gipson, who recently lost her bid for reelection, all five members of the city’s Board of Aldermen, and Wayne Jones, the utility department’s general manager. The suit asks the court to use its authority to enforce the contract.

Years of under-investment and deferred maintenance — as well as destructive weather, including a 2023 ice storm — have debilitated the utility to the point where customers experience unusually frequent and prolonged power outages, local officials, TVA and ratepayers told Mississippi Today. They said while the catastrophe was years in the making, decision-making under the current administration has exacerbated the problem.

In its complaint, TVA says it first warned the city in September 2023 that it lacked “necessary revenue” to run the power department. Last October, TVA again warned city leaders, saying it needed to increase customers’ rates to survive financially. The lawsuit alleges that Holly Springs hasn’t paid a monthly invoice to TVA on time since May of last year, and that it still hasn’t paid what it owes from this past February.

TVA also says Holly Springs leaders took funds from the utility department before ensuring there were sufficient reserve dollars. Under the parties’ contract, the city can take payments in lieu of taxes from the utility after it fulfills certain expenses, including saving enough money in reserves. The lawsuit alleges, though, the city made five such payments in the last year, all while having outstanding debts and thus no reserve funding.

While managed by city officials, the utility has expanded to the point where about two-thirds of its 12,000 customers live outside Holly Springs, meaning most ratepayers have no local voting power in terms of running the department.

Customers and state officials attribute much of the recent power issues to city leadership, especially Gipson, Holly Springs’ mayor since 2021. Just a month ago after severe weather took out power for Holly Springs customers, Northern District Public Service Commissioner Chris Brown alleged that Gipson refused assistance from crews in New Albany who offered help. Holly Springs officials denied the claim, FOX13 Memphis reported, saying the crews showed up without getting the city’s approval.

The Public Service Commission, which oversees the utility thanks to a bill state lawmakers passed last year, initially scheduled a hearing for city officials to appear in Jackson in January. The city successfully appealed the initial date, arguing one of its attorneys, Sen. Bradford Blackmon, had to appear in the legislative session. The PSC agreed to postpone the hearing until after the session, which ended a month ago.

“We are currently in the final stage of the third party investigation and are awaiting a report from (third party investigator) Silverpoint which will determine the exact scheduling of a hearing,” Richard Stone, a spokesperson from Brown’s office, told Mississippi Today on May 5.

During the 2025 session, Rep. John Faulkner, D-Holly Springs, offered two proposals related to the city’s utility: one requesting $2 million in appropriations, and another establishing a nine-person board — five appointees from Holly Springs and two each from the boards of supervisors for Marshall and Benton counties — to run the department. Both bills died in their House committees.

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

The post TVA suing Holly Springs over power grid failures appeared first on mississippitoday.org

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

The article presents a detailed account of the legal dispute between the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the city of Holly Springs, focusing on allegations of mismanagement and breaches of contract. The tone is neutral, presenting the facts of the lawsuit and the ongoing issues without promoting a particular ideological perspective. The article includes perspectives from various stakeholders, including TVA, local officials, and residents, allowing for a balanced portrayal of the situation. There is no apparent bias toward one political side or another, as the content primarily reports on the facts and legal proceedings surrounding the case.

by Robyn Tannehill, Mississippi Today
May 8, 2025

Editor’s note: Robyn Tannehill is the second-term mayor of Oxford and is unopposed for a third term. This piece is part of an ongoing Mississippi Today Ideas series showcasing perspectives of mayors across the state.

Oxford is experiencing unprecedented growth and the challenges we face are unique in Mississippi.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that in 2023 Oxford had a population of only 27,000 residents. On any given weekday in Oxford, we have more than 80,000 people in town with a student population of 23,981 (an 11% increase from last year) and workforce and visitors totaling approximately 39,000 people a day coming in from surrounding counties. On an SEC home football game, Oxford swells to more than 250,000.

In the simplest terms, Oxford has to be able to provide water and sewer service all year for 300,000 people to be able flush the toilets — even if we only need it for 10 days a year. With a tax base of 27,000, it is difficult to make those numbers work. 

The past eight years have been a rollercoaster in Oxford – from a pandemic that nobody prepared me for to growth that never stops. However, Oxford is a much stronger community with a stronger economy today than we had eight years ago. We are setting records every month in sales tax collections. New businesses are opening across our community, and almost every corner of Oxford is being developed at an incredible pace.

To make all of this work, my staff and I have to think outside of the box.       

When your greatest challenges are the result of tremendous growth in Mississippi, you say ‘thank you’ and you get busy being proactive in your planning. Planning is exactly what my staff, city employees and I have done.

I was told before I was elected in 2017 that our state and federal partners did not provide financial assistance to Oxford. I saw that as a challenge. I quickly learned that Oxford had not been told “no,” but rather Oxford had never told its story and asked for help. My team and I have secured more than $246 million dollars from our state and federal partners in the last eight years. 

That is $246 million that has been and will continue to be invested in transportation infrastructure, water and sewer infrastructure, facility upgrades and capital improvements across our community that our local taxpayers will not have to pay for. It is the result of an investment of time and relationship building in Jackson and Washington, DC. And, it’s the reward for being a community that is planning ahead and being a good steward of the funds we are granted. It also takes give-and-take between our state and federal elected officials, and we have been so blessed with great partners.

Telling our stories and seeking assistance from our state and federal partners is something every community can do. As the chairman of the Mississippi Municipal League Education Committee, I facilitated a session at our annual meeting where staff members from our United States Senate and Congressional offices attended and shared the best ways for our local elected officials to contact their offices. Our state and federal partners often do not know a community’s needs unless a community takes the time to share challenges, needs and concerns.  

Law enforcement is becoming increasingly complex, and the public’s expectations of police officers are becoming more demanding. The city of Oxford and Oxford Police Department have spent hours evaluating our mission, how we serve the community and how we can improve. 

Policing today extends beyond the realm of enforcing laws. Officers are called upon to respond to non-criminal incidents, including many situations that involve mental health issues or people who have no one else to call for help. In these cases, officers are often ill-equipped to handle the call. Afer all, they are not psychologists, psychiatrists or social workers.

We often expect officers to serve as family therapists, medical first responders, homeless advocates, school counselors and dog catchers. Each call is different, and rarely do the calls follow training scenarios; therefore, police officers and police departments must adapt, sometimes on the fly.

As first responders, the Oxford Police Department typically receives the initial call when a citizen is in need or has become the victim of a crime. Our officers respond to more than 1,000 calls per year where victim services are needed, which we define as calls such as domestic violence, sexual assaults, child abuse, harassment and stalking. Wanting to offer the best care for our citizens facing these situations, the Oxford Police Department began evaluating how we can walk hand in hand with our victims and connect them with the appropriate partners who can best serve their long-term needs. 

To meet these needs, we established a Community Response Team within the Oxford Police Department. The Community Response Team is led by a full-time employee who has completed a 10-week FBI Victims Impact Training Program and has a background in social work. This employee is dedicated to victim services, and is accompanied by volunteer officers and staff members of the Oxford Police Department. Our Community Response Team is responsible for identifying cases that could benefit from these services, training our officers to recognize these cases, and connecting our citizens to these services. 

Knowing we have amazing resources in the Oxford community, we invited all of the different victim service organizations to a roundtable discussion. This meeting allowed our police department to put together a comprehensive list of victim services available in our community, and educated our officers on these organizations. We want to operate like the Emergency Room and connect victims to the best resources available. Our goal is to provide a safe place and services needed for victims to help them move forward.

In 2017, my administration established a Safe Site in our downtown business district with the Oxford Polic Department. Uniformed officers are there Wednesday through Saturday evenings assisting patrons who feel unsafe, need assistance in finding a ride home, or would like to be escorted to their car. This Safe Site has become a great way for Oxford Police Officers to meet and build relationships with our citizens, and especially with our student population. 

Realizing that at bar closing time thousands of students are exiting bars at the same time presenting issues with securing safe rides home, my administration established three transportation hub locations in the downtown area with UBER, Lyft and local taxis participating. The rideshare companies direct people requesting rides to one of three sites where cars can stack and be waiting to offer safe rides home. Oxford Police Department has made 100 less arrests for DUI this year since our installation of the hubs. 

Enormous growth requires innovative solutions. Local government is where the boots meet the ground. 

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

The post Mayor Tannehill: Oxford officials view rapid growth, large crowds as opportunities, not problem appeared first on mississippitoday.org

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

The article presents a largely neutral perspective, focusing on Mayor Robyn Tannehill’s proactive approach to addressing the challenges of rapid growth in Oxford. While Tannehill emphasizes the importance of community partnerships and innovative solutions, there is no overt ideological bias in the language or framing of the piece. The content is more about problem-solving within local governance, rather than promoting a particular political viewpoint. The mention of securing funding and building relationships with state and federal partners suggests a pragmatic, solution-oriented approach without leaning toward any specific political ideology.