Mississippi Today

Mississippi ranks last in health outcomes in the entire country, again

Published

2 years ago

June 22, 2023

For yet another year, Mississippi’s health system performance has been deemed the worst in the country.

The comprehensive annual report from the Commonwealth Fund, a private health care research foundation, ranked Mississippi as one of the worst states for a number of health categories, including reproductive and women’s health and racial health equity, based on the most recent available data from 2021.

The fund has consistently found stark health disparities in Mississippi and ranked the state near the bottom or last for a number of measures used to evaluate health system performance.

The results hardly come as a shock to Dr. Daniel Edney, Mississippi’s state health officer. As the leader of the state health department, he’s intimately familiar with the health care challenges Mississippians are up against.

“If we had 60 states, we’d be 60th in health,” he said. “Someone has to be 50th, but it doesn’t have to be us.”

Within Mississippi’s healthcare system ranking, some of the worst categories are the state’s preterm birth rate, infant mortality rate, breast and cervical cancer deaths, and premature deaths.

The latter is a category that worsened since last year’s report, and the fund connects the rise, which has lowered the nation’s average life expectancy, to the COVID-19 pandemic. People of color experienced the steepest declines. Mississippi’s avoidable death rate surged more than 35 percent between 2019 and 2021.

The scorecard for the first time included measures to evaluate state reproductive care and women’s health performance, and the results showed that throughout the country, women struggled to receive adequate health care. Those difficulties were especially pronounced in Mississippi. The only state with worse outcomes was New Mexico.

Mortality rates for women of reproductive age generally increased across all states, including Mississippi, especially among American Indian/Alaska Native and Black women. Mississippi’s maternal mortality rate between 2019 and 2021 was the highest, with 50.3 deaths per 100,000 live births.

The report said that many of the deaths could be attributed to inequitable access to comprehensive health care and racial and ethnic disparities in quality of care, even at the same hospitals. Growing “maternity care deserts” and lack of insurance coverage contributes to the problem.

Furthermore, Mississippi ranked at the bottom when considering health care access and affordability.

Edney has long stressed that maternal and infant mortality is one of the biggest health care challenges the state is facing.

“It’s critically important that we… take the fact that we have the lowest life expectancy, the highest infant death rate, and one of the highest maternal death rates in the country very seriously and stop accepting it as our lot in life,” Edney said. “We must be willing to do whatever it takes to get us off the bottom in health.”

According to experts at the Commonwealth Fund, postpartum care is critical to improving reproductive health outcomes. Mississippi extended postpartum Medicaid coverage to one year this legislative session.

But experts say it’ll take more than just one policy change to turn the state’s health care crisis around.

The state health department, in conjunction with the Mississippi Division of Medicaid, has recently created a program that sends nurses to the homes of mothers experiencing high-risk pregnancies. While the Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies program currently serves about 700 people across the state, Edney said it’s not nearly enough.

However, Edney previously told Mississippi Today he didn’t get the state funding this year to hire more nurses for the program.

The report also showed that 22.4 percent of women in Mississippi did not receive prenatal care in the first trimester. An investigation by Mississippi Today found that the state Division of Medicaid, the largest funder of births in the state, does not track when expecting mothers go to their first prenatal appointment.

Many of the states with some of the worst health outcomes were those without Medicaid expansion, including Mississippi. Republican state leaders have remained steadfast in their opposition to the policy change.

And now, as the Magnolia State starts to feel the compounded effects of the reversal of abortion rights, a crumbling health care system and the unwinding of pandemic-era policies that extended insurance coverage, the situation may be poised to worsen.

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

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Mississippi Today

UMMC holds free cancer screenings

Published

1 day ago

April 30, 2025

Staff Editor

mississippitoday.org – @EricJShelton – 2025-04-30 12:00:00

by Eric J. Shelton, Mississippi Today
April 30, 2025

Resident physician Claire Babin, right, performs an oral cancer screening on Ella Holmes during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Physicians prepare for oral, head and neck cancer screenings during a free screening event at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Resident physician Brooks Lampkin, center, screens Diane Carter for oral cancer as medical students Mason Nodurft, left, and Eva Kiparizoska observe during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Educational giveaways advocating against smoking are available during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Sharon Terry, senior tobacco treatment specialist, waits for patients during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Skylar Robinson, medical office assistant, left, and Kiandria Bruce, registered nurse, review materials at the patient sign-in table during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Head and neck cancer literature is available during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Dr. Alex Brooks and registered nurse Angela Noble talk during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Nina Brown, clinical manager, helps Ned Bostic with paperwork during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Resident physician Brooks Lampkin performs an oral cancer screening on Ned Bostic at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Ned Bostic receives a neck cancer screening during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Resident physician Brooks Lampkin, center, and medical student Hanna Watson examine Ned Bostic during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.

The University of Mississippi Medical Center’s Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery hosted a free oral, head, and neck cancer screening Wednesday at the Jackson Medical Mall as part of Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week.

The event featured quick, noninvasive screenings aimed at catching cancer early — when treatment is most effective. Onyx Care provided free HPV vaccinations, while the ACT Center for Tobacco Treatment, Education, and Research offered resources on smoking cessation and free services.

“These screenings take about 10 minutes and can save lives,” said Dr. Gina Jefferson, head and neck surgical oncologist at UMMC. “The earlier a cancer is diagnosed, the better chance we have of curing it.”

Tobacco and alcohol use remain major risk factors for these cancers. However, physicians say an increasing number of cases are linked to HPV, especially among younger adults with no history of smoking or drinking. Dentists are often the first to spot early signs, which can include persistent sores, lumps in the neck, or difficulty swallowing.

Oral, head and neck cancers are among the most common globally. When found early, survival rates can exceed 80 percent.

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

The post UMMC holds free cancer screenings 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

This article presents factual information about a free cancer screening event without showing a clear ideological stance. It primarily focuses on the health benefits of early cancer detection and the availability of free resources, such as HPV vaccinations and smoking cessation support. The language used is neutral and the content is centered around public health education rather than promoting a political viewpoint. The inclusion of factual statistics, such as survival rates and risk factors, adds to its informative and objective tone. There are no signs of bias or advocacy for a particular political agenda, making this a centrist piece.

Crooked Letter Sports Podcast

Podcast: What next for Mississippi State baseball?

Published

1 day ago

April 30, 2025

Staff Editor

mississippitoday.org – @rick_cleveland – 2025-04-30 10:46:00

by Rick Cleveland and Tyler Cleveland, Mississippi Today
April 30, 2025

Mississippi State didn’t even wait until the end of the season to fire Chris Lemonis, who brought the national championship to Starkville not quite four years ago. Where do the Bulldogs go from here. Robbie Faulk who covers the Bulldogs more closely than anyone else joins the podcast to discuss the situation.

Stream all episodes here.

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

The post Podcast: What next for Mississippi State baseball? appeared first on mississippitoday.org

Mississippi Today

Mobile sports betting users: We want to hear from you

Published

1 day ago

April 30, 2025

Staff Editor

mississippitoday.org – @MSTODAYnews – 2025-04-30 10:21:00

by Mississippi Today, Mississippi Today
April 30, 2025

Mississippi Today is looking to speak with current and former mobile sports betting users. We’d like to speak with people who spend considerable amounts of time and money betting on sports through online gambling sites.

We’re interested in hearing the experience of people who have suffered from gambling addiction or problems, or friends and family members of people who have. We also would like to talk with people who believe legalizing mobile sports betting would benefit Mississippi and its residents.

We want to hear from you. Please take the survey below or contact Political Reporter Michael Goldberg by email at mgoldberg@mississippitoday.org

TAKE THE SURVEY:

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

The post Mobile sports betting users: We want to hear from you appeared first on mississippitoday.org

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

This article from Mississippi Today appears to present a neutral stance, focusing on gathering input from various groups of mobile sports betting users, including those who may have experienced addiction issues. The content does not advocate for or against the legalization of mobile sports betting but instead seeks to gather diverse perspectives, including those of individuals who may support or oppose it. The language used is objective and does not suggest a particular ideological perspective, allowing for a balanced exploration of the issue at hand.