Mississippi Healthcare Collaborative brings together state’s healthcare providers under new umbrella

• Former executive director of Mississippi’s Division of Medicaid, Drew Snyder, will serve as the group’s Chief Health Policy Officer.

With members in 78 of the state’s 82 counties, a coalition of healthcare providers have formed the Mississippi Healthcare Collaborative.

Announced Monday, the Collaborative’s focus is on providing sustainable solutions to challenges facing access to care. Members represent the state’s leading acute and trauma care hospitals, rural hospitals, mental health providers and primary care providers.

Kent Nicaud, President & CEO of Memorial Hospital, and Chair of the Collaborative’s board, said in a statement that their mission is to create a healthier Mississippi.

“Members of the Collaborative represent an impressive 70% of patients in Mississippi,” Nicaud said. “We believe that everyone in our state deserves access to high-quality healthcare, and we are dedicated to making that a reality.”

Founding members include Community Health Centers Association of Mississippi, Forrest Health System, George Regional Health System, Memorial Health Systems, Methodist Rehabilitation Center, Merit Health, Mississippi Rural Health Association, North Mississippi Health Services, Northwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center, Singing River Health System, South Central Regional Medical Center, Universal Health Services (Alliance Health Center, Brentwood Behavioral Health System, Diamond Grove Center for Children, Gulfport Behavioral Health System, Parkwood Behavioral Health System), and University of Mississippi Medical Center.

The Mississippi Hospital Association was previously the primary statewide organization that provided healthcare representation for hospitals, wellness and healthcare networks before lawmakers.

While still in existence under new leadership, MHA members began terminating their membership in Spring 2023 after it was revealed that the political action committee (PAC) tied to MHA, Friends of Mississippi Hospitals PAC, made a donation to the Democratic gubernatorial campaign of Brandon Presley in the amount of $250,000 while also strongly endorsing the notion of expanding Medicaid.

Members who left MHA, which include many of those listed in the new Collaborative, did not comment as to whether or not the donation impacted their decision to terminate their MHA membership.

“For too long, too many health providers have been siloed in our advocacy. It’s time to sit down at the same table and work together,” said Terrence Shirley, CEO of the Community Health Center Association of Mississippi (CHCAMS). 

The CHCAMS represents Mississippi’s 21 Federally Qualified Community Health Centers (FQHC), providing care through one million patient visits annually, at its approximately 300 sites, regardless of a patient’s ability to pay.

The new Collaborative also announced that former head of Mississippi’s Division of Medicaid, Drew Snyder, will serve as its Chief Health Policy Officer.  Snyder joins by way of Health Resources, a newly formed health-policy consulting wing of Capitol Resources, a leading government relations, public affairs, and public opinion research firms.