‘The Fact Of The Matter Is That Mamas Are Dying’ State Rep. Summers Takes A Swipe At Tate Reeves’ Scheme To Tax Rural Hospitals And His Refusal to Expand Medicaid

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October 9, 2023                 

‘The Fact Of The Matter Is That Mamas Are Dying’ State Rep. Summers Takes A Swipe At Tate Reeves’ Scheme To Tax Rural Hospitals And His Refusal to Expand Medicaid 

Jackson, MS – Today, State Rep. Zakiya Summers and healthcare professionals sent warnings of hospital depredation as Tate Reeves refuses to expand Medicaid. In June, St. Dominic’s Hospital in Jackson closed its entire behavioral health unit, laying off 157 workers - the psychiatric beds at nearby hospitals became full. Last month, the CDC released a report that Mississippi’s suicide rate has reached its highest level in 20 years. 

“[The hospital crisis] has been a failure of the administration,” said State Rep. Zakiya Summers. “The fact of the matter is that mamas are dying and when they are trying to have babies, babies are not making it to their first year birthday. This should never really be a partisan issue. This is a human rights issue. If Mississippi is going to be all that it can be, the hospitality state, the Magnolia State, if we want a good economy in the state of Mississippi, people gotta be healthy in order to go to work. You can't go to work sick.”

“We have some solutions, but Tate Reeves has decided not to use those solutions,” said Teresa Roberts, Registered Nurse. “We deserve better. Mississippi healthcare is in a major crisis and because we deserve better I stand here in support of Brandon Presley for our next governor because he is looking out for what the people of Mississippi need.”

Instead of supporting a solution staring him square in the face, Tate Reeves proposed increasing taxes on hospitals to fund a desperate, election-year scheme to funnel $309 million to his political allies while short-changing smaller, rural hospitals. While Mississippi hospitals close or struggle to keep their doors open, Tate Reeves has said nothing about the hospital crisis. There always seems to be enough money for Tate Reeves and his rich friends and never enough for hard-working Mississippians.

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