Mississippi Today

‘Tate Reeves doesn’t understand’: Hospital CEO slams governor for refusing Medicaid expansion

Published

2 years ago

July 13, 2023

GREENVILLE — Hours after yet another Mississippi hospital announced it was laying off workers this year, the leader of a hospital in the Mississippi Delta criticized Republican Gov. Tate Reeves for refusing to expand Medicaid access to the working poor.

Iris Stacker, the CEO of Delta Health Systems in Greenville, spoke at a Tuesday campaign event for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Brandon Presley and said if the federal program covered more people, then the local economy would be more robust.

“We don’t understand why Tate Reeves doesn’t understand why he needs a healthy workforce,” Stacker said.

Hospitals across the state have recently slashed their staff, discontinued medical services or closed their doors permanently because of financial pressures within their organizations.

North Mississippi Health Services in Tupelo announced Tuesday it was laying off employees, cutting their hours and reassigning them to different jobs.
Ochsner Health, which operates several facilities in Mississippi, announced in May it was cutting hundreds of jobs.
Memorial Hospital in Gulfport announced layoffs just days before the Oschner announcement.
In June, St. Dominic Hospital in Jackson announced it was cutting 5.5% of its workforce and ending its behavioral health program.
KPC Promise, a hospital in Vicksburg, closed last month.
And Delta Health, led by Stacker, last year closed its NICU unit, leaving the Delta region, one of the most impoverished areas in the nation, without a neonatal center.

One of the primary reasons Stacker and other hospital leaders support Medicaid expansion is their belief that it would reduce the amount of uncompensated care that medical workers provide to patients without health insurance.

The 40 other U.S. states that have expanded Medicaid have seen a significant drop in uncompensated care costs post-expansion. Louisiana, which expanded Medicaid in 2016, saw a 55% decrease in uncompensated care costs for rural hospitals.

Last year, Delta Health spent about $26 million on uncompensated care, Stacker previously said. That amounts to about 15% of its total operating expenses.

“We still continue to have uncompensated care every day,” Stacker told Mississippi Today on Tuesday.

The governor’s office and his campaign did not respond to a request for comment, but he has repeatedly objected to the program’s expansion, derisively calling it “welfare” or labeling it “Obamacare.” Instead, Reeves believes eliminating a law requiring medical facilities to seek approval from a state agency before they create a new health care center should be eliminated.

Meanwhile, Presley is strongly advocating for Medicaid expansion in his bid to unseat Reeves in November. More than a dozen health care professionals endorsed the Democratic candidate on Tuesday.

Mississippi is one of 10 states that has not passed any form of Medicaid expansion. Economic experts say the remaining states, many in the Deep South, would experience an economic boon if officials expanded the program. Studies show that Mississippi is leaving more than $1 billion in new health care related revenue on the table every year it does not expand.

Medical leaders have pleaded for state leaders to expand the program under the federal Affordable Care Act to draw down on additional funds. If the program were expanded, the federal government would likely cover 90% of the costs while the state contributed a 10% matching rate.

Much like in 2019, Medicaid coverage and access to health care are some of the primary issues between the two leading candidates in this year’s governor’s race.

Attorney General Jim Hood embraced Medicaid expansion throughout the last statewide campaign cycle, but Reeves still captured nearly 52% of the general election vote.

Presley, the current utility regulator from north Mississippi, is hoping the continuing spate of hospital closures will encourage more voters to be receptive to his pro-expansion message during the current election cycle.

Dr. Brett Zepponi, a Delta Health physician, told Mississippi Today that he considers himself a fiscal conservative, but he’s currently planning to vote for Presley because he doesn’t think the Greenville hospital can last much longer without expanding Medicaid coverage.

“For me, it doesn’t come down to a political thing,” Zepponi said. “But it’s more of a people thing. I think Republicans and Democrats both want their family to be taken care of and want their neighbors taken care of.”

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

3 days 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

3 days 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

3 days 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.