Sine Die ‘23

Good morning.

Earlier this month, the Mississippi Legislature gaveled out to end their 2023 regular session. As is usually the case, the three-month-long session was very busy and fortunately ended with positive outcomes for UMMC.

As an institution that receives part of its funding for the academic mission through state appropriations and is often impacted by legislative actions, the Medical Center is heavily invested in the proceedings, and we track them along every step. When the Mississippi Legislature is in session, workdays get more hectic, and at times, our focus must be redirected to respond to a request from an elected official or to discuss pending legislation. It’s a busy time each year, but it’s essential to our operations and our ability to carry out our mission. In this year’s session, more than 3,000 bills were introduced with a little more than 700 of them going through the full process, and the state approved one of its largest ever budgets: $7.6 billion.

It is a lot to work through in only a few months and I appreciate the efforts of our government affairs staff – Kristy Simms, executive director of external affairs, and Anna Moak Sparks, liaison for state government affairs – who were plugged in, routinely at the Capitol and kept me updated along the way. Kristy and Anna engage with legislators year round, increasing the activity leading up to and during the annual session.

Today, I want to highlight a few of the items that impact us directly and share other bills that we closely watched that became law.

• Roughly 10% of the Medical Center’s total operating budget is provided through state appropriation, which is decided upon during the legislative session. We submit a budget proposal, and each chamber can vote to approve it or take it up for discussion. This year, we were appropriated $184,414,405 in state general funds.
• In addition to our regular annual appropriation, we sometimes are awarded additional funding for initiatives we have identified as vital to Mississippi’s health care needs and require state support. This year’s biggest item in that category is $40 million to expand and renovate the state’s only dental school. It’s essential that we produce more dentists and oral health professionals who will establish careers in our state. This appropriation will be transformative and once complete, the project will immediately have a positive impact on Mississippians.
• We received $3 million in new funds for capital expenditures including replacing, repairing, renovating and modernizing various UMMC facilities. This will help us address areas that need some level of upgrades to meet our mission.
• To address another significant need, lawmakers awarded $6 million for an inpatient adolescent psychiatric unit. This has long been on our list, and I’m thankful we now have the means to make this happen.
• We anticipate receiving a portion – around $4 million – of the funds that will be distributed to Mississippi hospitals through the Hospital Sustainability Grant Program. This was passed to strengthen our state’s hospital system and increase access to needed medical care.
• Many of our nursing students may benefit from $6 million for loan repayment designated for recent nursing school graduates in Mississippi who work as an LPN or RN in a nursing home or acute care hospital. They can receive up to $6,000 per year for three years to help with repaying their nursing school loan.
• The Asylum Hill Project is moving along, and a bill passed this year to allow for more access to and use of the old state asylum records. This will make possible even more forward progress. I plan to share more updates on Asylum Hill in an upcoming VC Notes, including more details about the law.

There are a few other legislative actions not directly tied to UMMC but are positives for Mississippi’s health care system.

• Medicaid coverage for postpartum care was extended from 60 days to 12 months. This is a bill that we supported, and we are glad that new moms will have extended access to care.
• A new task force – with UMMC representation – was created that will evaluate early intervention services in Mississippi available to qualified children with disabilities from birth to 3 years old. The task force will compile a report to present to legislators prior to next year’s session.
• Community hospitals in Mississippi were given more flexibility to affiliate and collaborate with other in-state public and private hospitals.
• We hope to benefit from $3 million made available for hospitals to create new or expand existing physician residency and fellowship programs.
• The Mississippi State Department of Health is now able to provide up to $4 million in grant funds payable as reimbursement for establishing and equipping a burn unit. The UMMC Mississippi Burn Center recently received designation by MSDH and we continue to build up facilities and staffing to match the type of burn unit our state needs. I appreciate the legislature appropriating money toward supporting this vital resource in Mississippi.

I’m pleased with the outcomes of this year’s legislative session, and I appreciate our elected officials recognizing our important role in Mississippi and investing in the state’s only academic medical center. Their support helps us determine and address the current and future health care needs of our residents.

I say this frequently, we can’t do this alone. We need everyone doing their part – including the important job of addressing our funding needs and passing laws that create opportunity for us to reach our ultimate goal of A Healthier Mississippi.