Mississippi Today

Mississippi mothers are now guaranteed coverage for a year after giving birth. But they may not get the prenatal care they need.

Published

2 years ago

May 3, 2023

Mississippi cleared a big hurdle after lawmakers extended postpartum Medicaid coverage this session, guaranteeing low-income women a year of health care coverage after having a baby.

Now experts say that Mississippi needs to turn its attention to what happens before these women give birth. Early prenatal care is vital to healthy moms, babies and pregnancies, but because of the state Division of Medicaid’s policies, it’s unknown if the majority of pregnant Mississippians are getting that care.

The division, which funds more than two-thirds of births in Mississippi, doesn’t monitor when people go to their first prenatal visit. And the absence of presumptive eligibility in Mississippi creates major delays for people seeking prenatal care.

Pregnancy presumptive eligibility allows people to receive care when they’re pregnant, even if they’re not on Medicaid. It’s presumed that they qualify, so their providers enroll them and start billing Medicaid, which reimburses providers immediately.

That means fewer delays when it comes to receiving care. They’re able to go to doctor’s offices and get the care they need quickly, without having to pay out of pocket.

The agency is hoping to eventually track when recipients go to prenatal visits, but Communications Officer Matt Westerfield could not provide a timeline for when that data might be available. And Medicaid Executive Director Drew Snyder has said he won’t take steps to make it easier for expecting mothers to get on Medicaid without legislative action.

Mississippi is one of the most dangerous states in the country to give birth in, and early intervention is key to successful pregnancies, according to Dr. Anita Henderson, former president of the Mississippi Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The state’s dismal maternal mortality rate is getting worse, especially for Black people, and Mississippi has the highest infant mortality, preterm birth and low birthweight rates in the nation.

But as rural health care collapses and hospital closures loom, it’s getting harder to access health care for expecting Mississippians. Neonatal ICUs and labor and delivery units are closing, and county health departments stopped enrolling new maternity patients in 2016.

It’s a dangerous mix following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last summer to overturn abortion rights, which means the state is expecting thousands more pregnancies.

Care during the first trimester is crucial to a healthy pregnancy and healthy babies, especially for people with conditions that need to be managed like high blood pressure or diabetes.

“I think given the level of health concerns in our population that exists before pregnancy, we know too many people are going to start prenatal care with medical conditions that make that pregnancy high risk,” said Dr. Charlene Collier, an OB-GYN based in Mississippi. “The consequences are always snowballing when a person enters pregnancy with an untreated or complicated medical history.”

When people who are expecting can’t make it to a prenatal visit in a timely manner, the consequences can be deadly — and, often, preventable.

Collier cited the prevalence of congenital syphilis in Mississippi, which is at an all time high, to stress the importance of early care. She said there’s a limited time frame to prevent complications from syphilis.

Last month, the state health department implemented an emergency order requiring doctors to test pregnant patients for syphilis. Previously, Mississippi was one of six states in the country not to require the testing.

“Now that we’re seeing a rise in congenital syphilis, it’s even more important that people are in prenatal care, getting their blood work done and getting treatment so that infections like syphilis, which is easily treatable with penicillin, can be identified and treated early,” she said. “Any delays increase the chance of a really detrimental infection in a pregnancy.”

Another barrier to timely prenatal care is that it’s complicated to get pregnancy Medicaid coverage.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, Mississippi is one of 21 states as of January 2020 that doesn’t offer presumptive eligibility for pregnant people, which has significant benefits.

According to a study commissioned with the University of Mississippi Center for Population Studies by the Center for Mississippi Health Policy, preterm births are less likely for low-income people when they live in a state with presumptive eligibility and expanded Medicaid.

Mississippi is one of only three states in the country that has neither expanded Medicaid nor provides pregnancy presumptive eligibility.

And it takes the Mississippi Division of Medicaid about 24 days to approve pregnancy applications, Westerfield said in November. Until then, uninsured people who are expecting must foot the bills themselves, if a doctor sees them at all.

It’s a tedious process that even top officials in Mississippi are confused by.

At a recent press conference about Mississippi’s commitment to its “culture of life” following the overturning of abortion rights, Republican Gov. Tate Reeves said that the state has presumptive eligibility. But he was referring to hospital presumptive eligibility, which allows hospitals to assume patients’ Medicaid eligibility to provide care. It is not the same thing as presumptive eligibility for pregnant people, which allows them to get care at doctor’s offices just as they would if they were insured.

Reeves’ spokesperson Shelby Wilcher responded that pregnant women in Mississippi have presumptive eligibility at hospitals. After Mississippi Today clarified hospital presumptive eligibility was not the same thing as presumptive eligibility for pregnant women, Wilcher suggested further questions be directed to the Division of Medicaid.

She did not respond to a question asking if the governor would support establishing presumptive eligibility for pregnant women.

“Presumptive eligibility is, intentionally, a very loosely used umbrella term,” said John Dillon Harris, a health care systems and policy consultant at the Center for Mississippi Health Policy. “The question is who is presumed eligible and for what?”

At the last Medical Care Advisory Committee Meeting on Feb 24, Snyder said that the Division of Medicaid wouldn’t utilize pregnancy presumptive eligibility unless directed to by the Legislature.

Westerfield said in an email that position is to prevent the DOM from paying “providers for services for women who subsequently would not qualify for Medicaid.”

Rep. Missy McGee, R-Hattiesburg, introduced a bill this past session to establish presumptive eligibility for pregnant women, but it died after being referred to the Medicaid committee, which met just once last legislative session and only advanced two bills out of committee.

Collier said she recently had a patient who applied for Medicaid but hadn’t yet been approved. The patient delayed getting ultrasounds and other labs out of fear of running up a higher bill even though all her bills would be back-paid once she got on Medicaid.

“I do think the lack of insurance preceding pregnancy is a major barrier to initiating early prenatal care, particularly getting bloodwork done in a timely manner,” Collier said.

It’s a paradox — a confirmatory pregnancy test is required to qualify for Medicaid, but many doctor’s offices don’t provide care to people who are uninsured.

County health departments still offer these confirmatory tests for free, said Liz Sharlot, communications director at the Mississippi Department of Health.

“In fact, that is the most common reason women come in for the pregnancy tests is to confirm that pregnancy test and receive the confirmation letter to bring to the Regional Medicaid Offices in order to apply for Medicaid benefits during pregnancy,” she said.

Clinics that specifically serve uninsured and underserved populations such as the Hinds Comprehensive Health Center, where Dr. Jaleen Sims works as an OB-GYN, also provide these confirmatory pregnancy tests at low cost.

It’s not clear how many people are aware these services are offered at low or no cost at places other than primary care doctor’s offices. And if they are aware, transportation can be another issue.

“The patients who live in these areas need a ride or they have to take off work for a full day to drive to Jackson or their closest areas, spend time in the waiting room, have their visit and then drive back,” she said. “By the time you finish with that you’ve missed … a full day of work for the most part.”

According to a report from the March of Dimes, more than half the counties in Mississippi are considered maternity care deserts, with no OB-GYNs, certified midwives or hospitals providing obstetric care.

It also continues to be a challenge to recruit doctors, especially OB-GYNs, to Mississippi and keep them here. Of the five people who graduated from UMMC’s OB-GYN program in 2019, Sims was the only one to stay in Mississippi.

For the doctors who stay, their patient waitlists are long.

One of the nurses Sims works with had to use her health care connections to get into a doctor’s office. She had just missed her period and called to schedule an appointment, only to be told she had to wait four months.

“I’ll never judge a person again on coming late to prenatal care,” Sims said the nurse told her.

It’s hard work being pregnant in Mississippi, Sims said.

“It’s almost like you have this feeling of being defeated,” she said. “It’s like, ‘I’m trying everything that I can to take care of me and to take care of my baby. But I have all these barriers and hoops that I have to jump through just to get to that point.’”

Reporter Isabelle Taft contributed to this story.

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

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Mississippi Today

UMMC hospital madison county

Published

3 days ago

June 13, 2025

Staff Editor

mississippitoday.org – @MSTODAYnews – 2025-06-13 11:23:00

by Gwen Dilworth, Mississippi Today
June 13, 2025

The University of Mississippi Medical Center has acquired Canton-based Merit Health Madison and is preparing to move a pediatric clinic to Madison, continuing a trend of moving services to Jackson’s suburbs.

The 67-bed hospital, now called UMMC Madison, will provide a wide range of community hospital services, including emergency services, medical-surgical care, intensive care, cardiology, neurology, general surgery and radiology services. It also will serve as a training site for medical students, and it plans to offer OB-GYN care in the future.

“As Mississippi’s only academic medical center, we must continue to be focused on our three-part mission to educate the next generation of health care providers, conduct impactful research and deliver accessible high-quality health care,” Dr. LouAnn Woodward, UMMC’s vice chancellor of health affairs, said in a statement. “Every decision we make is rooted in our mission.”

The new facility will help address space constraints at the medical center’s main campus in Jackson by freeing up hospital beds, imaging services and operating areas, said Dr. Alan Jones, associate vice chancellor for health affairs.

UMMC physicians have performed surgeries and other procedures at the hospital in Madison since 2019. UMMC became the full owner of the hospital May 1 after purchasing it from Franklin, Tennessee-based Community Health Systems.

The Batson Kids Clinic, which offers pediatric primary care, will move to the former Mississippi Center for Advanced Medicine location in Madison. This space will allow the medical center to offer pediatric primary care and specialty services and resolve space issues that prevent the clinic from adding new providers, according to Institutions of Higher Learning board minutes.

A UMMC spokesperson did not respond to questions about the services that will be offered at the clinic or when it will begin accepting patients.

The Mississippi Center for Advanced Medicine, a pediatric subspecialty clinic, closed last year as a result of a settlement in a seven-year legal battle between the clinic and UMMC in a federal trade secrets lawsuit.

The changes come after the opening of UMMC’s Colony Park South clinic in Ridgeland in February. The clinic offers a range of specialty outpatient services, including surgical services. Another Ridgeland UMMC clinic, Colony Park North, will open in 2026.

The expansion of UMMC clinical services to Madison County has been criticized by state lawmakers and Jackson city leaders. The medical center does not need state approval to open new educational facilities. Critics say UMMC has used this exemption to locate facilities in wealthier, whiter neighborhoods outside Jackson while reducing services in the city.

UMMC did not respond to a request for comment about its movement of services to Madison County.

UMMC began removing clinical services this year from Jackson Medical Mall, which is in a majority-Black neighborhood with a high poverty rate. The medical center plans to reduce its square footage at the mall by about 75% in the next year.

The movement of health care services from Jackson to the suburbs is a “very troubling trend” that will make it more difficult for Jackson residents to access care, Democratic state Sen. John Horhn, who will become Jackson’s mayor July 1, previously told Mississippi Today.

Lawmakers sought to rein in UMMC’s expansion outside Jackson this year by passing a bill that would require the medical center to receive state approval before opening new educational medical facilities in areas other than the vicinity of its main campus and Jackson Medical Mall. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves vetoed the legislation, saying he opposed an unrelated provision in the bill.

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

The post UMMC hospital madison county 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 primarily factual report on UMMC’s expansion into Madison County, outlining the medical center’s services and strategic decisions while including critiques from Democratic leaders and local officials about the suburban shift. The inclusion of concerns over equity and access—highlighting that the expansion is occurring in wealthier, whiter suburbs at the expense of services in majority-Black, poorer neighborhoods—leans the piece toward a center-left perspective, emphasizing social justice and community impact. However, the article maintains a measured tone by presenting statements from UMMC representatives and government officials without overt editorializing, thus keeping the overall coverage grounded in balanced reporting with a slight progressive framing.

Mississippi Today

Rita Brent, Q Parker headline ‘Medgar at 100’ Concert

Published

3 days ago

June 13, 2025

Staff Editor

mississippitoday.org – @MSTODAYnews – 2025-06-13 10:26:00

by Mississippi Today, Mississippi Today
June 13, 2025

Nationally known comedian Rita Brent will host the Medgar & Myrlie Evers Institute’s “Medgar at 100” Concert on June 28.

Tickets go on sale Saturday, June 14, and can be ordered on the institute’s website.

The concert will take place at the Jackson Convention Complex and is the capstone event of the “Medgar at 100” Celebration. Organizers are calling the event “a cultural tribute and concert honoring the enduring legacy of Medgar Wiley Evers.”

“My father believed in the power of people coming together — not just in protest, but in joy and purpose, and my mother and father loved music,” said Reena Evers-Everette, executive director of the institute. “This evening is about honoring his legacy with soul, celebration, and a shared commitment to carry his work forward. Through music and unity, we are creating space for remembrance, resilience, and the rising voices of a new generation.”

In addition to Brent, other featured performers include: actress, comedian and singer Tisha Campbell; soul R&B powerhouse Leela James; and Grammy award-winning artist, actor, entrepreneur and philanthropist Q Parker and Friends.

Organizers said the concert is also “a call to action — a gathering rooted in remembrance, resistance, and renewal.”

Proceeds from the event will go to support the Medgar & Myrlie Evers Institute’s mission to “advance civic engagement, develop youth leadership, and continue the fight for justice in Mississippi and beyond.”

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

The post Rita Brent, Q Parker headline 'Medgar at 100' Concert appeared first on mississippitoday.org

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

This article presents a straightforward, factual report on the upcoming “Medgar at 100” concert honoring civil rights leader Medgar Wiley Evers. The tone is respectful and celebratory, focusing on the event’s cultural and community significance without expressing a political stance or ideological bias. It quotes organizers and highlights performers while emphasizing themes of remembrance, unity, and justice. The coverage remains neutral by reporting the event details and mission of the Medgar & Myrlie Evers Institute without editorializing or promoting a specific political viewpoint. Overall, it maintains balanced and informative reporting.

Mississippi Today

Future uncertain for residents of abandoned south Jackson apartment complex

Published

3 days ago

June 13, 2025

Staff Editor

mississippitoday.org – @MSTODAYnews – 2025-06-13 09:25:00

by Maya Miller, Mississippi Today
June 13, 2025

Residents at Chapel Ridge Apartments in Jackson are left wondering what to do next after months dealing with trash pileups, property theft and the possibility of water shutoffs due to the property owner skipping out on the bill.

On Sunday, Ward 5 Councilman Vernon Hartley, city attorney Drew Martin and code enforcement officers discussed next steps for the complex, which, since April 30, has been without a property manager.

“How are you all cracking down on other possible fraudulent property managers around Jackson?” one woman asked Martin.

“ We don’t know they’re there until we know they’re there, and I know that’s a terrible answer, but I don’t personally have another one I’m aware of right now,” Martin said. “These individuals don’t seem to have owned another apartment complex in the Metro Jackson area, despite owning a whole bunch nationwide.”

A sign marks the entrance to Chapel Ridge Apartments, Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Jackson, Miss.

Back in April, a letter was left on the door of the leasing office advising residents to not make rental payments until a new property manager arrives. The previous property managers are Lynd Management Group, a company based in San Antonio, Texas.

The complex has been under increased scrutiny after Chapel Ridge Apartments lost its solid waste contract mid-March due to months of nonpayment. The removal of dumpsters led to a portion of the parking lot turning into a dumping site, an influx of rodents and gnats, and an investigation by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. Local leaders pitched in to help remedy the situation, and in May, Waste Management provided two dumpsters for the complex.

However, the problems persisted. In May, JXN Water released the names of 15 apartment complexes that owe more than $100,000 in unpaid water fees. Chapel Ridge was on the list. JXN Water spokesperson Aisha Carson said via email that they are “pursuing legal options to address these large-scale delinquencies across several properties.”

A “No Dumping” sign stands where a dumpster was previously located at Chapel Ridge Apartments, Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Jackson, Miss.

“While no shutoffs are imminent at this time, we are evaluating each case based on legal feasibility and the need to balance enforcement with tenant protections. Our focus is on transparency and accountability, not disruption—but we will act when needed to ensure the integrity of the system,” Carson said.

And earlier this week, Chapel Ridge Apartments was declared a public nuisance. Martin said this gives the city of Jackson “the authority to come in, mow the grass and board up any of the units where people aren’t living.”

Martin said the situation is complicated, because the complex is owned by Chapel Ridge Apartments LLC. The limited liability corporation is owned by CRBM Realty Inc. and Crown Capital Holdings LLC, which are ultimately owned by Moshe “Mark” Silber. In April, Silber was sentenced to 30 months in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution. Earlier this month, both companies filed for bankruptcy in New Jersey.

An empty area where a dumpster was once placed is seen at Chapel Ridge Apartments, Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Jackson, Miss.

Now, Martin said the main goal is to find someone who can manage the property.

“Somebody’s got to be able to collect rent from you,” Martin said. “They got to be able to pay the water. They got to be able to pay the garbage. They got to be able to pay for the lights to be on. They got to maintain the property, so that’s our goal is to put that in place.”

Chapel Ridge offers a rent scale based on household income. Those earning under 50% of the area median income — between $21,800 and $36,150 depending on household size — for example, pay $480 for a two-bedroom and $539 for a three-bedroom unit. Rent increases between $20 and $40 for those earning under 60% of the area median income.

Valarie Banks said that when she moved into Chapel Ridge nearly 13 years ago, it was a great community. The disabled mother and grandmother moved from West Jackson to the complex because it was neatly kept and quiet.

“It was beautiful. I saw a lot of kids out playing. There were people that were engaging you when you came out. They were eager to help,” Banks said. “ I hope that they could bring this place back to the way it once was.”

But after months of uncertainty, Banks is preparing to move. She said she’s not the only one.

“I have somewhere to go, but I’m just trying to get my money together so I can be able to handle the deposits and the bills that come after you move,” she said. “All of my doctors are around here close to me. In 12 years, I made this place home for me. … I’ve been stacking my rent, but it’s still not enough if I want to move this month.”

While she said she’s holding onto her rent payments for the time being, she realizes that many of her fellow residents may not be as lucky. Without someone to maintain the apartments, some residents are finding themselves without basic amenities.

“Some people are in dire straits, because they don’t have a stove or a fridge or the air conditioner,” she said. “Their stove went out, or the fridge went out, or they stole the air conditioner while you’re in the apartment.”

Banks isn’t the only one who is formulating a plan to leave. One woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said she’s been trying to save money to move, but she already has $354 wrapped up in a money order that she’s unable to pass off for her rent, due to the property manager’s recent departure.

“It really feels like an abandonment and just stressful to live where I’m living at right now. This just doesn’t happen. It just feels stressful. It doesn’t feel good at all,” she said.

She’s trying to remain optimistic, but as each day passes without someone to maintain the property, she’s losing hope.

“ I just hope that things get better some day, somehow, hopefully, because if not, more than likely I’m going to have to leave because I can only take so much,” she said. “I can’t continue to deal with this situation of hoping and wishing somebody comes, and they don’t.”

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

The post Future uncertain for residents of abandoned south Jackson apartment complex appeared first on mississippitoday.org

Political Bias Rating: Center-Left

This article from *Mississippi Today* primarily focuses on the struggles of low-income residents at Chapel Ridge Apartments, emphasizing the human impact of property mismanagement, regulatory gaps, and systemic neglect. The piece maintains a factual tone, but it centers the voices of vulnerable tenants and local officials seeking accountability—hallmarks of a center-left perspective. While it does not overtly advocate for policy change, the narrative framing highlights social injustice and institutional failures, subtly aligning with progressive concerns about housing equity and corporate responsibility.