Jackson Jambalaya

"It is rather interesting that several health care provider groups would oppose someone so well-connected in the Mississippi medical establishment. "

Easily understood - the examples you listed are all non-physicians. The Nurse Practitioners like to pretend they are physicians; the Optometrists (4 year's college) like to pretend they are as capable as as ophthalmologists (college, med school, 4 years of residency, maybe a fellowship afterwards). It's a classic turf battle, all over $$$.

I'm a physician with 17 years practice in MS, and almost every MD I work with here despises the Board and MSMA. It's not surprising MS ranks dead last in so many measures of health care quality. Sad.

First of all, Mississippi Physicians PAC: $500 -- sounds like physicians to me. Could be wrong.

Here's the thing, Randy has spent his time on the board trying to put pretty much anyone, who isn't a physician but works in healthcare, out of business. This isn't about turf... this is about the ability to practice your profession without interference from a board (read: Randy) who is trying to regulate you out of business because he doesn't like competition.

There's a reason the Gov and leadership has oversight on 'self-regulated boards' now... it's well known in the Capitol as the Eastering rule. The man has run amok for so long -- and his chickens have finally come home to roost.

Randy is a total self absorbed quack.

He ran an addiction unit to suck money rather than help people.

He’s the worst type of doctor....one who uses his abilities to enrich only himself.

I’ve known him for a very long time.

I’m surprised he thought he could actually win an election for any office.

The best thing he can do is retire.

But, Gallo thinks he hung the damned moon. And Gallo is, well, self absorbed.

Both of Kevin Fords parents are well respected doctors in the community. Kevin grew up in Bovina/ Culkin area. Inside baseball is you have to carry Culkin box to win. No need to comment on the opponent

4:06, MS is dead last in healthcare because your arrogant ass really thinks you’re the only one qualified to provide healthcare. Scratch that... you don’t mind non-MDs providing care, you just think that MDs are the only ones who should get paid for it. You guys continue to push this bogus narrative that nonMDs are violating their scope of practice and itherefore its a patient safety issue. You guys keep screaming that w/o providing any incident numbers whatsoever. BS! Given the legal climate here, there aren’t many nonMDs willing to risk a lawsuit because they want to “play” MD. If you were truly interested in patient outcomes, safety, more importantly the complete absence of care in areas, you’d be focused on collaboration rather than your wallet. There’s nothing wrong with making money either, but let’s call it what it is without demeaning other hard working professionals.

Inside Baseball, that you covered, KF. Remember MSMA throwing a fit about the new regs from the board? Randy was pushing them. So, he’s may be a pushy ass (as has been intimated in these comments), but he obviously ain’t for sale to MSMA. They donated $35K to him while he Strongly supported something that they vehemently opposed.

A wise old Appropriations Chairman once said: “Boys, if you can’t eat their steak and drink their whiskey tonight and vote against ‘em in the morning; you don’t need to be here.”

7:47 You want to practice medicine, go to medical school. End of story.

Was Ed Perry an appropriation chairman?

Look for Gallo to have a stand-in host for about three days while he's in mourning. He'll tell the HR Girl to charge it to Bereavement Leave.

I'm frankly puzzled by the notion of competition between trained medical support staff and doctors.
I've lived in two states where there was not only no competition but rather grateful cooperation.
It's frees a doctor to treat seriously ill patients in a timely manner. His sickest patients aren't waiting while he plows through those who didn't need to see him in the first place.
A good doctor is not threatened but aided by such support in the system and it keeps costs for all of us down.
If all you need are glasses because you are near sighted or far sighted, you're going to either pay once to get them or pay twice as guess to whom your ophthalmologist will send you next to the optometrist.
You can pay a doctor for a routine swab or test that has normal results or you can pay less for a nurse practitioner or physician's assistant to do the same.
This is a non issue being artificially made into a political issue by those who count on voter ignorance.

9:01 - Guess what? 'Voters' don't have any knowledge of or concern about all this back-story bullshit in the first place. None of what you mention had any impact on the contest for the legislative seat. People in this state bother to vote on a legislative candidate for one of four reasons: He is the same color as me or He thinks like I think or I've heard his name for years or Everybody I know says they're going to vote for him.

@9:27– you missed one; “Over half of the district hates him because he is pompous.”

Interesting comments. Especially the "if you want to practice medicine, go to medical school". DOs do not go to medical school. DCs do not go to medical school. But both practice in healthcare. APRNs don't go to medical school, and they don't practice medicine. They practice Advanced Practice Nursing. Don't hate, but please educate yourselves.