Lt. Governor gives preview of priorities ahead of 2023 legislative session

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann says there are a few things state leaders need to address in 2023, the first thing being the status of rural hospitals.

“We have a critical need in Mississippi and our hospitals, Hosemann said. “It’s not going to be fixed just solely by reimbursement, quite frankly. So we’ve got to make some strategic decisions about how, and how much and where we’re going to find and I dissipate, those will come up this year.”

After visiting Greenwood-LeFluer Hospital in Greenwood, Hosemann says even with services being cut, the hospital is projected to lose over $20,000,000.

“I anticipate there will be some temporary assistance through either a reimbursement model,” he said. “I don’t want to have moms having babies in the back of cars and stuff as crazy. With that, we have to be confident that there are things that may be at a central location. Primary services need to be available in my own mind no more than 30 minutes away from anybody.”

The second on his list is education, specifically by incentivizing schools to switch to modified calendars.

“When you ask the parents and the teachers, they are like 82 and 85%, in favor of a modified calendar, we’re getting record results from these five, or six or seven that have already done this,” Hosemann stated.

In Lamar County, it cost around $201,000 for the district to make the shift with teachers, bus drivers, and meals. Hosemann says state grants could take a dent out of that price tag.

“We need to look at this with the view that we’re not going to always do things like they used to, what we’re going to do is prepare our children for the future.”

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