Mississippi Advancing Hospital Transparency Legislation

By Christine Kern, contributing writer

Two bills supporting financial transparency have moved forward in the Mississippi state legislature.

In the wake of a scathing financial scandal at the Singing River Health System in Mississippi in which the group – according to Healthcare Dive – quietly stopped contributing to its publicly-owned pension plan and then voted to terminate it, two new pieces of transparency legislation have been making steady progress in the state legislature.

According to The Clarion-Ledger, the Pension Notification Act  as passed by the House and will be considered by the Senate. If passed, this act would require some public systems to inform participants of their financial status and plan changes, and to allow public access to their records. According to state Rep. Hank Zuber (R-Ocean Springs), there are currently no state or federal laws that require public pension plans to provide this information, as there are for private plans.

A second bill, SB 2407, introduced by state Sen. Brice Wiggins (R-Pascagoula), would hold publicly-owned community hospitals in Mississippi accountable to public meetings and records disclosure laws. “We've seen the need for transparency at public hospitals with recent events on the Gulf Coast,” Reeves was quoted by The Clarion-Ledger this week. “These taxpayer-supported entities should operate in the open so patients, staff and the public know the proper fiscal management practices are in place.”

Senate Accountability Chairwoman Nancy Collins, R-Tupelo, brought comparable legislation before the state legislature last year, which would have required open hospital meetings and records, but the hospital lobby quickly shut it down. With the SRHS scandal still fresh in the public eye, the measure is finding firm political footing.

Wiggins authored this year's bill in response to the SRHS scandal in Jackson County.

“The issue going on with Singing River is exhibit A, in my opinion, of the problem,” Wiggins said. “… The issue there, I think quite honestly is they forgot they were a public hospital, and that if something bad happens, it costs the taxpayers. We had county supervisors, who are supposed to oversee the hospital, being told they can't see records.”