MHA's Executive Briefing

MHA's Quarter Century Executive Forum accepting nominations

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2013 Induction into MHA's Quarter Century Executive Forum. Nominations must be received by May 15, 2013.

The guidelines to submit nominations are available here. For more information, contact Judith Forshee at (800) 289-8884, (601) 368-3216 or jforshee@mhanet.org. 

Call for nominations: MHA's 2013 Distinguished Trustee of the Year

This prestigious award is given to an individual who has demonstrated significant contributions in the field of hospital governance over a sustained period of time. The nominee must be an active member of a hospital board or hospital corporate board that holds current membership in the Mississippi Hospital Association.

A selection committee appointed by the Chairman of the MHA Board of Governors will determine the recipient. Hospital Board Chairmen, other trustees, or hospital chief executive officers may make nominations.   

This award is given each year at the MHA Annual Leadership Conference.   The Trustee of the Year will be featured in a video presentation which will be shown during the awards presentation.  The 2012 Award recipient was Dr. Harry C. Frye from Beacham Memorial Hospital in Magnolia, Mississippi.  

The deadline for nomination is March 15, 2013.  The award criteria and nomination information are available here to assist in your selection process.  

For more information, contact Judith Forshee at (800) 289-8884, (601) 368-3216 or jforshee@mhanet.org. 

 

IHL report finds 20 percent chance for recession

The Mississippi Economic Outlook, first quarter 2013 edition, is now available online. Published by the Center for Policy Research and Planning of the Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL), the Outlook presents the state economic forecast, including detailed employment forecasts by sector. Regional, national and international developments impacting the state economy are examined.

For highlights from the Mississippi Business Journal, click here.

Mississippi budget hearings set for Sept. 17-20

Mississippi legislators will meet later this month to start planning a state budget for fiscal 2014, which begins July 1 of next year.

The 14-member Joint Legislative Budget Committee gathers Sept. 17-20 to hear spending requests from agency directors. The public meetings are held at the Woolfolk state office building, near the Capitol in downtown Jackson.  

Dr. David Dzielak, head of the Division of Medicaid, said his agency 
was asked to keep its fiscal 2014 budget request no more than 1.3 percent higher than the current year. Read more from The Clarion Ledger here.

Survey and Certification Hospital/Policy Updates

The Mississippi Hospital Association (MHA) recently hosted the quarterly MHA/Health Facilities Licensure and Certification (HFLC) Liaison meeting to discuss regulatory issues affecting hospitals. The liaison is a joint effort between the Division of Health Facilities Licensure and Certification, Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) and a group of Joint Commission Accredited and Non-Accredited hospital CEOs.

The group discussed new survey and certification regulations announced through the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).  A summary of the regulations discussed during the meeting is available here. (If you would like a copy of the AHA Advisory on the conditions of participation for all hospitals, email Shannon Coker at scoker@mhanet.org.)  

Also, please note that the Mississippi State Department of Health’s Licensure and Certification division has made some departmental changes. See below for a list of the bureau directors and their contact information. During the meeting, the bureau reported that they are fully staffed and have the maximum number of surveyors.

Mississippi Department of Health
Bureau of Health Facilities
Licensure and Certification

Mary Lawrence (Lawrie) Gervin- Bureau Director, Non Long Term Care
Phone: 601-364-2710
E-mail: mary.gervin@msdh.state.ms.us

Roger Smith- Division Director, Non Long Term Care
Phone: 601-364-1112
E-mail: roger.smith@msdh.state.ms.us

Marilyn Winborne, Bureau Director, Long Term Care
Phone: 601-364-1108
E-mail: marilynn.winborne@msdh.state.ms.us

Dr. Frye of Beacham Memorial named MHA's 2012 Trustee of the Year

Trustee of the Year 2012 from Mississippi Hospital Assoc on Vimeo.

Mississippi lawmakers increase budget estimates

Citing better-than-expected tax collections in recent months, Mississippi lawmakers are increasing the pool of money available for the state to spend during the current and coming budget years.

The Joint Legislative Budget Committee voted Tuesday to add about $99 million to the budget for the current year, which ends June 30, and about $130 million to the budget for the coming year, which begins July 1.

Those are relatively small additions in state budgets that top $4.6 billion. Learn more here.

Bracing for Medicaid expansion

 

More than two years remain before millions of low-income Americans gain Medicaid eligibility through an expansion authorized by the health system reform law, but it's already clear the overhaul will affect some states much more than others. Mississippi is among the states picked to be most affected by amednews.com.

Challenged states - such as Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Idaho - have limited numbers of physicians, but they already pay relatively high Medicaid fees to doctors in an effort to retain them. So a health reform provision that will raise Medicaid primary care pay to Medicare levels in 2013 and 2014 is not expected to lure many additional physicians in those states to accept new Medicaid patients, Cunningham said.

No state has a lower per-capita primary care physician supply than Mississippi - about 8.3 doctors per 10,000 residents in 2008, according to the Center for Studying Health System Change. The national average is 12.8.

Read more about how Mississippi will be affected here. 

Mississippi Medicaid budget hearing

Mississippi's Medicaid budget hearing was held this week. The proceedings of the hearing are available online here: Part 1 and Part 2. The budget document presented is attached below.

Medicaid requested a $107 million increase. The 2012 and 2013 Medicaid budgets include no stimulus funds. (The 2011 budget included $262 million of such funding and 2010 included $256 million.)

Download Medicaid+budget+request

(Thanks to Jackson Jambalaya for the video and the Medicaid document.)

Haley Barbour to join "super PAC" American Crossroads

American Crossroads, the well-funded conservative group that played a crucial role in the Republican wave election last year, is bringing rainmaker Haley Barbour on board and doubling its fundraising goal for the 2012 contest, the group announced Sept. 8. Read more from The Washington Post here.