Reeves creates Mississippi office to oversee rural health transformation funds

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Gov. Tate Reeves announced Wednesday that Mississippi will create a new office to oversee how hundreds of millions of dollars in federal rural healthcare funding are distributed. The administration also unveiled a website it said will provide a transparent, accessible view of Mississippi’s initiatives, funding opportunities and progress as the state moves to implement the federal program.

Reeves said the office will be overseen by the governor and led by certified public accountant Richard Grimes. In a press release, Reeves described the move as “a massive step forward for healthcare in Mississippi,” saying the office and website would put “the structure and transparency in place to deliver real, lasting improvements for our rural communities.”

The federal funding stems from the Rural Health Transformation Program, which Mississippi was awarded nearly $206 million under in December. States are scheduled to receive payments over five years as part of the program, which was designed to support rural healthcare and reduce the expected impact on struggling rural hospitals tied to federal spending cuts Congress passed last summer.

According to the state’s description of its approach, Mississippi’s plan calls for a statewide rural health assessment and other initiatives aimed at coordinating care, strengthening the workforce, creating a statewide health information exchange, expanding telehealth opportunities, and improving infrastructure. The administration has said the office will oversee distribution of the money, and Reeves’ office led the state’s application for the federal funds last fall.

The announcement comes amid criticism from some Mississippi lawmakers who said they had limited involvement in the application and appropriation of the program funding. Senate Public Health Chairman Hob Bryan, a Democrat from Amory, said previously that “If you haven’t received a personal invitation from the governor, you have no input at all,” in comments reported by Mississippi Today.

In March, lawmakers passed an oversight bill intended to direct the program’s funding to rural communities and to require that spending be reported to the Legislature. Reeves vetoed the bill, arguing that requiring more legislative involvement could jeopardize Mississippi’s access to the money by slowing distribution and potentially resulting in a loss of up to $1 billion over five years; lawmakers failed to override the veto.

In Wednesday’s press release, Reeves said the federal funding will be subject to oversight from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and federal procurement regulations. The story said the state’s program budgets were still being reviewed by CMS and that Mississippi’s budget had not yet been approved, according to the state’s program website.

The website also says information on how to apply for funding will be posted once details are finalized. CMS guidelines described in the report say the $206 million awarded to Mississippi must be spent by September 2027, or it will be redistributed to other states.