Mississippi's hospitals will soon be getting grant money, but medical leaders say it isn't enough

Two bills, one to create the grant program and one to fund it, were approved this week and will now go to the governor's desk for a signature. The grant program will give out roughly 103 million dollars total, with individual amounts varying from hospital to hospital.

Dr. Mark Horne is the chief medical officer at South Central Regional Medical Center in Laurel, which will be awarded over 1.5 million dollars. He says this funding will be used to "keep the doors open."

"We are in the midst of making very hard decisions... because we cannot afford to continue to provide all the services we're doing." he said.
"And so this will temporarily reduce some of the bleeding, but it is by no means a solution."

The program was originally intended to serve mostly rural hospitals, but after negotiations, lawmakers expanded it to all types of medical centers. Horne also once served as the president of the Mississippi State Medical Association. He says the state as a whole is seeing problems with the "business model" of its medical facilities, and that there is a dangerous disconnect between policy makers and medical professionals.

"It doesn't necessarily appear that all involved truly grasp the gravity of the situation that we're in." he said. "We're in a bad place in hospitals across the state of Mississippi. Some may die for lack of access that could otherwise have been there had policymakers made better policy and listened to those who do this for a living about what the problems are."

In total, 108 hospitals are listed to receive funding.