Healthcare

This bill appropriates $189 million from Mississippi's general fund and $1.7 billion from patient/student fees and special funds to cover the University of Mississippi Medical Center's (UMMC) operating expenses for fiscal year 2026. It specifically allocates funds for UMMC's schools (Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing), the Teaching Hospital, and designated programs including $2.17 million for rural physician scholarships, $4.75 million for the Cancer Institute, $595,000 for a tobacco center, and $1.35 million for children's abuse care facilities. The bill requires UMMC to provide detailed expenditure reports to the legislature and mandates that state agencies reimburse UMMC for services within 90 days or risk service discontinuation. It also prohibits using funds for embryo research and specifies how certain allocations (like scholarship programs) must be used.

HB 46 provides additional state funding for multiple agencies during fiscal years 2025 and 2026. It allocates specific amounts to cover existing costs, including $156,842 for the Attorney General's legal expenses related to ongoing cases (like Curtis Flowers v. State of Mississippi), $4.3 million for the Department of Corrections' medical program, $14 million for replacing an offender tracking system, and $27.4 million for the Department of Child Protective Services to cover increased operational costs. The bill directly affects state agencies by providing funds for legal fees, medical services, technology upgrades, and child welfare operations. This is a funding measure, not a new policy, and does not change existing laws or create new programs.