We are officially halfway through the 2023 session, and those of us in the House are watching our general bills in the Senate as our colleagues in the other chamber determine their fates. Those measures must be passed by Feb. 28 or they will die for the session.
This past week, we appropriated monies to help local hospitals in House Bill 271. It is appropriated out of any money in the Capital Expense Fund not otherwise appropriated, to the State Department of Health for the purpose of distributing funds to hospitals under the Health Care Impact Grant Program established in House Bill 273.
This program provides grants to hospitals and long-term care facilities for the purpose of strengthening and improving the health care system and the quality and availability of health care services, and partially compensating hospitals for the cost of uncompensated care that they have. Tallahatchie General Hospital will receive $115,858.07 from this bill to help the hospital.
I feel it is the right thing to do, although the Mississippi Hospital Association and I would prefer that we accept the billions of dollars from the federal government that will shore up our health care system and our hospitals. We are one of only 11 states that have not expanded Medicaid.
I am not alone in my beliefs on this issue. Like many of my colleagues and the Mississippi Hospital Association, I believe we should expand Medicaid.
We should be doing everything we can to make sure that Mississippians who live in rural areas have access to health care whether it is emergency services or obstetrics or specialized surgery. No seriously injured person, heart attack victim or mother in labor should arrive at a hospital for help only to find it closed.
We must not allow people to suffer when the means are available to help them.
We have all been working on the “money bills,” in other words, appropriations (how much state money we will allocate to programs). Our deadline for finishing this work was Feb. 22, when bills must have been approved in the chamber and sent to the Senate.
I am proud to serve on committees that have helped create and fund much-needed programs during my time in office, such as the Rural Fire Truck Acquisition Program and needed education improvements.
If I can be of service to you, please call on me. My residence address is 1720 North Main, Water Valley, MS 38965, and my office address is P.O. Drawer 280, Charleston, MS 38921. My email address is tureynolds@gmail.com.
