Sunday, April 9, 2023

Bill Crawford: Lifeline More of a Band-aid

 Calling it a lifeline, the Mississippi Legislature appropriated $103 million in grants for state hospitals. However, the “lifeline” appears to be more of a Band-Aid.

For example, the grant to Greenwood Leflore Hospital will help it stave off closure for one month. As reported in the Greenwood Commonwealth, the grant of $924,220 “will buy roughly an extra month’s time.” Fortunately, the county is taking out a $10 million line of credit to keep the doors open for several more months. Also Medicaid has increased some reimbursements to hospitals which helps.

The grants and reimbursements may help other hospitals hang on longer too, but hospitals across the state continue to shed services to stay open.

Labor and delivery services have been among the first to go – from Hancock Medical Center in Bay St. Louis to the Delta Regional Medical Center in Greenville. Just as the Legislature emphasized maternal and baby care and expanded Medicaid postpartum care, access to maternal care is dwindling. Dr. Daniel P. Edney, the state health officer, has warned this may result in “health care deserts.” 

Some hospitals, like Alliance Healthcare System in Holly Springs, are willing to shed in-patient care to survive. The new federal “rural emergency hospital” program provides annual “facility payments” estimated at $3.2 million for hospitals that abandon in-patient care. Alliance agreed to do so and became Mississippi’s first “rural emergency hospital.” 

The Legislature also passed a bill to make it easier for community hospitals to merge or partner with other hospitals. This may accelerate a trend that has already begun. The University of Mississippi Medical Center has taken over hospitals in Lexington and Grenada. Its ability to do more may be hindered by its own revenue problems. 

Singing River Hospital on the Coast agreed to sell to Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System headquartered in Baton Rouge, LA, the same group that took over the St. Dominic System in Jackson. Baptist Health Systems in Mississippi passed control to Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis. Ochsner Hospital System in New Orleans has taken over Rush Health Systems in Meridian and the Hancock Medical Center in Bay St. Louis. Nashville based Merit Health operates nine Mississippi hospitals. Other hospitals seek to sell too. There are even rumors that Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg might be one.

Shriveling healthcare aside, the negative economic impact of hospital ownership and related vendor contracts moving out of state on top of smaller and fewer community hospitals, historically local economic engines, will be significant. 

Much of this could be headed off if Mississippi would expand Medicaid as North Carolina just did. North Carolina’s reason? To save its rural hospitals.

“Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly” – 2 Corinthians 9:6.


21 comments:

Anonymous said...

If there is profit to be made in these regions, then someone will set up shop and provide healthcare services.

This nation needs to stop thinking government is the answer to every problem.

Corn (syrup) subsidies are the likely cause of the majority of health issues in these rural areas.

Defund democrats.

Anonymous said...

How about just “giving people free healthcare” (ME paying for others), people actually take ownership of their own situation and take responsibility for their own preventive care.

This isn’t very difficult.

Anonymous said...

"Food deserts," "healthcare deserts," new buzz words invented by progressives.

Anonymous said...

The life span of GLH can be measured in months, not years.
Death by uncompensated care.

Anonymous said...

Another reason for the brain .

Anonymous said...

The money Uncle Joe pissed away in Ukraine would have floated them awhile longer, as well. But, the medicaid reimbursement policy is going to have to be tripled to even scratch a long-term solution.

If we can print money by the billions, what's the point in worrying about deficit spending?

The 'corn subsidies' and
'take responsibility' comments are flat stupid. You could be a millionaire who weighs 178 pounds and is in excellent shape, living in Greenwood, and need that hospital in two months. Same applies to Clarksdale, Senatobia, Cleveland, Ruleville, Greenville, Rolling Fork...on and on.

Anonymous said...

Move to where there are sustainable cities.

Anonymous said...

You could be a millionaire who weighs 178 pounds and is in excellent shape, living in Greenwood, and need that hospital in two months. Same applies to Clarksdale, Senatobia, Cleveland, Ruleville, Greenville, Rolling Fork...on and on.

They will continue to blame Joe Biden and continue to listen to "Jesus Take The Wheel" like it's lifestyle advice.

Anonymous said...

@12:57 PM said…
Move to where there are sustainable cities.

That’s a BINGO!

Suck it libs!

Anonymous said...

12:16- Don’t be surprised that an ambulance doesn’t show up at your house when you live in the middle of nowhere and put back any tax money into the system. That’s ignorant.

Move.

Anonymous said...

Next thing you know these liberals will mandate that Uber and Doordash operate everywhere in the Delta, from PantherBurn to Tutweiler.

Anonymous said...

Show me in the financials that a hospital like the one in Greenwood would survive just because Medicaid is expanded.

Anonymous said...

What became of the Singing River pension scandal?

Anonymous said...

Another reason for the brain.

Apparently.

Anonymous said...

I know it is hard for Crawford to accept, but his example - Alliance Health in Holly Springs - and the federal government actually have the right idea and are moving in the right direction.

Most of these publically owned, stand alone, rural hospitals don't need to be hospitals with in-bed facilities anymore. They need to provide emergency room, triage services, and transport to the nearby facilities. For example, in Holly Springs, how many full service, financially viable hospitals are next door in DeSoto and across the line in Tennessee, along with the ambulatory surgical units between them?

Many of these failing rural hospitals that Crawford cries tears about have bed useage rates in single digits; some less than two beds a day being used as a hospital bed. The fact that Crawford wants them to stay open because as his liberal mouth screams, they are the biggest employer in the area.

Hospitals are not there to provide jobs - they are there to provide health care - just like his other tears run for schools not there as the second largest employer but there supposedly to provide an education to the kids.

All this article of Crawford's does is acknowledge what is fact about medical care today - these single asset stand alone facilities are the buggywhip facilities from yore. In the 60's when Hill-Burton built hospitals in every rural community, they were necessary. Transportation wasn't what it is today; techology didn't exist, many communities didn't have landline telephone service much less the internet access of today.

Hospitals were all built with surgical units, and they have to maintain them today if they want to be a 'hospital', but most surgury is being done on an outpatient basis. And the result of the ability to do outpatient surgery at another facility means that people are not spending the night(s) in a hospital bed.

Yes - many hospitals are being merged just as he says, but the difference is that is a good thing rather than what he is crying crocadile tears about.

And the inclusion of Greenwood-Leflord in any discussion about the plight of rural hospitals should be banned by any and all media - their financial problems are the result of massive mismanagement (by the local board of trustees and the manager(s) hired/sppointed by who?? The political board of supervisors.) Just as Singing River dug its financial hole with the mismanagement of the pension system while they bought every available piece of property around to open new facilities, some of these are failing just as other businesses fail - due to total incompetence or corruption of those in charge.

Time for Crawford to understand that his beloved Hospital Association that propped him up to spew their political venom aint quite the sacred angel that he purports them and their members to be. A hundred million dollar bailout is much more than a band-aid - but its just like the other hundreds our legislature passed around to fund any any every nook and cranny neighborhood that stuck their hands out for some of their largess.

Anonymous said...

Just as the hospitals are being divided up among out of state interest, you could do the same to the land mass called Mississippi . Louisiana could take everything south of Hwy 84. ( LSU has a much larger following in this area than any of the state schools.) The rest could be divided amongst The Choctaws, Alabama ( most of the folks who work in those plants in West Point and Columbus are living in Ala. anyway. Arkansas is backwards and the Delta would fit right in. Tennessee could absorb the Hillbillies from Oxford to Corinth. So we don’t have to change the flag we could give Puerto Rico statehood. The have an economy 4 times the size of Mississippi and a million more people. It would be a win-win for all.

Ghost of Arthur C. Guyton said...

@5:22 and all the other health care "experts" posting on here:

1. The Mississippi Hospital Association is like every other "association" - it is basically a lobbying arm of the hospitals, and just because it states a position does not mean the position is the correct one.

2. Anyone who wants to research hospital ownership will discover that no governmental unit anywhere in the United States is capable of, or qualified to, run or even maintain a hospital. This includes the federals - take a look at the VA.

3. Crawford picks and chooses his facts - some of what he is trying to say is valid; some, like most of these comments, are plain bullshit.

4. Those who make comments suggesting that people who want medical care and live where the hospitals are failing should move are very short sighted. Where do you draw the line? I live in the hills, so using this logic, the federal and state governments should not bail out the coastal areas when hurricanes hit (which is almost on an annual basis) or areas devastated by a tornado. I feel certain that those making the "people should move" comments do not live where the hospitals are failing, however it is a safe bet they live where federal and state money have been used when natural disasters have happened.

5. Crawford is correct in his statement that the state aid is a Band-Aid. The state leadership does not have the intelligence to properly address this problem. They either can not, or will not, address the problem, and it is an insult to the people of this state that they are doing literally nothing.

6. Regarding Item 5, the Congressional delegation is less than useless in this matter. The federal government is constantly reducing the payments for medical services.

7. Anyone who believes Medicaid expansion will solve this problem has no idea what they are talking about.

8. This is not a Mississippi problem; it exists nationwide.

Problem Solving 101 - I do not know what the solution is, but I do know the problem will not be solved until the people who created the problem admit there is a problem.

Anonymous said...

Don’t be surprised that an ambulance doesn’t show up at your house when you live in the middle of nowhere...Move.

Those who can afford to pick up and move needn't necessarily worry about an ambulance. They've got two or three cars and helicopter-rescue policies. They may represent 18% of the population in Bennie's empire.

You ended your rant with 'ignorant'. That pretty much sums up the rant.

Anonymous said...

"This nation needs to stop thinking government is the answer to every problem.

As long as it retains the 'right' to confiscate wealth and call it taxation, we don't have much choice other than to demand some returns from 'the gubment' on our investment.

Unknown said...

All I know is that my garbage was pick up twice a week. Richard did a good job.

Anonymous said...

At 11:50 - Attention GPS grad; I think you meant your 'garbage was PICKED up' twice a week. On Chockman's payroll, are ya?

And it's 'Richards'.

Stay off your damned phone on city time!


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