Mississippi Governor Vetoes $50M Improvements to UMMC

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves revealed that he vetoed a $50 million improvement to the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s adult hospital building. In a tweet, Reeves says his motion was because while the medical center’s teaching center is funded by the state, the hospital is not.  

“UMMC’s teaching center is largely funding by the state. The hospital is not,” he says. “They are responsible for their own operational budget – just like other hospitals. They do receive certain competitive advantages that are not afforded to other hospitals and physical groups around Mississippi, such as waivers of certificate of need requirements. There is little reason that Mississippi taxpayers should radically increase the commitment to further subsidize the operations of UMMC to the detriment of competitors.” 

He says he does not believe that the $50 million for building improvements would be worthwhile. Rather, the money would be better served for training purposes. 

“That money would be better served in one of the programs that I recently signed to incentivize more training around the state for doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals,” the statement continues. “After all, throughout COVID, we always had adequate bed capacity for patients. The central challenge was always the hospitals’ inability to properly staff the beds.”