Will federal funding cuts force changes?
The Mississippi Hospital Association estimates that state hospitals will lose approximately $160 million annually when the effects of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), approved by Congress and signed into law last year by President Donald Trump, are realized.
How that will affect rural healthcare in Scott County is debatable to some, but Lackey Memorial Hospital CEO Sydney Sawyer, RN, says it could be very problematic.
“Over time it could be devastating,” Sawyer said. “Mississippi has somewhat of a reprieve for a couple of years — 2029 I believe — since we did not expand Medicaid. However, long term, unless there are changes to reimbursement, it could be insurmountable for most rural hospitals that have a high Medicaid volume.”
Sawyer said that in order to combat the losses, they are trying to increase access to more services so that they are able to keep patients in Forest.
“This helps to hold patients with insurance here with us,” he said. “We are trying to encourage Medicare age patients to stay with traditional Medicare instead of any of the Medicare advantage plans. Medicare lets your doctor plan your care and will pay for most services without question. This leads to better care for the patient and better reimbursement for the facility.”
Sawyer also said the OBBBA has indirectly impacted plans for building a new hospital in Forest.
“There has not been much movement as of yet on the hospital,” the CEO said. “There are some provisions for some federal funds dedicated to rural hospitals, but the state’s application for some of this funding has just been approved. It will be some time before we see some benefit from that.”
Sawyer added that federal grant funds he was hoping to secure for the hospital were not approved due to the government shutdown last year.
In late December Governor Tate Reeves announced that “the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has awarded Mississippi $205,907,220 through the Rural Health Transformation Program to strengthen healthcare in rural communities throughout the state.” That is the federal funding Sawyer referenced.
State Republican Senator Tyler McCaughn, who represents Scott County, said that it is a little early to tell how that money will be allocated.
“Right now, the problem is that we don’t know what the governor’s plans are for the $200 million,” McCaughn said. “I’ve heard rumors that it will be used for some more advanced measures in an effort to get healthcare to more people, but those are only rumors.”
The senator said that the Legislature would be working with the governor to make sure that they get the money into the right hands to get access to health care for all the people of Mississippi.
“The governor’s office is spearheading this, and the healthcare committees in the legislature are going to see what route we can take,” he said.
McCaughn said that a major area of concern is the shortage of doctors.
“I do think the way we deliver services is vastly different than it used to be and the way we deliver healthcare has changed,” he said, “but we still have a problem with a shortage of doctors in our area and we are having to rely more and more on our nurse practitioners and physician assistants and we will have to address that.”
McCaughn said the dedication of medical professionals is impressive in Scott County. “In Forest we are very fortunate that we do have a very dedicated group there at Lackey providing healthcare and we have Oschners in the Morton area and in Union where they are doing a good job,” he said.
As far as Lackey and a new hospital go, McCaughn said he did not think this round of funding would be available to help with that. “I do think the money is going to come down the pipe for services but not brick and mortar,” he said. “and I do think we need to be more focused on getting the services to the people rather than brick and mortar.”
Former Democratic State Representative, and current Scott County Chancery Clerk Tom Miles had positive things to say about the current status of healthcare in the county and said he felt that from past experience, the legislature would step in if needed.
“We’re blessed with good healthcare in Scott County,” Miles said, “and people want to come here to get it. Right now, I feel like it is too early to tell what will really happen when all the cuts go into effect, but I don’t think our legislators are going to let our rural hospitals fail. They are too important.”
Miles said that the state may have to “pony up” some money from the general fund when the time comes to keep some rural hospitals open. He said that in the past the Legislature has given out grant money to help fill in the gaps when funding was short to the hospitals. During the COVID pandemic when there was a shortfall of funds he said the state did that.
“They may have to look at grants to keep the doors open to some hospitals in the future,” Miles said. “But, it looks like for right now they are going to be okay for the next couple of years.”
Miles added that it is important to him in his current position that the quality and availability of healthcare practitioners remains high in the county.
“We are fortunate in Scott County, from my standpoint as Chancery Clerk, because when I have to have a person committed there are plenty of doctors, nurse practitioners, and nurses to sign off on it. Some counties do not have that good fortune,” Miles said.
Lackey Memorial Hospital and its family of clinics, now housed in the new Medical Arts Complex (The MAC) on Airport Road in Forest, is the leading source of medical care in not only Forest and Scott County, but neighboring counties where Lackey also operates clinics.
In October 2021 Lackey, and parent company Independent Healthcare Management, broke ground for The MAC. The state-of-the-art facility opened in the summer of 2023 with future plans for a new hospital adjacent to the massive facility.
The need for a new hospital in Forest has been a topic of discussion for years and with that reality this close, residents are counting on seeing it come to fruition. The current facility which was established in 1952 and has begun showing signs of age although the quality of care there remains top notch patients say.
According to their website, the hospital was “named in honor of the Lackey family, whose vision and generosity brought the institution to life, and that the hospital was founded with a steadfast commitment to improving the health and well-being of the community.”
That commitment to community is still evident today.
In 2000, Lackey became the first designated Critical Access Hospital in Mississippi and in 2020 during the height of the pandemic the hospital brought new innovative telehealth programs to the local schools. The very next year Lackey broke ground on The MAC and Sawyer said at that time that Phase II would be a new hospital located to the west and the buildings would connect adjacent to the surgical suites of the new facility.
The MAC is a state-of-the-art gem housing Lackey’s various clinics — that were previously scattered around town — under one roof. Currently operating in the ultra-modern facility are Community Health Clinic, 505 Women’s Health, Forest Family Pharmacy, and Outpatient Speciality Services, which offers medical services for just about everything one can imagine. There is also Doc McBean’s cafe offering fresh brewed coffees, nutritional blended teas, and a variety of other treats.
Lackey also operates Lackey Pediatric Clinic just behind The MAC and across the lot on which the future new hospital will be built.
Last year Lackey began offering minimally invasive surgery with the da Vinci 5 Surgical System. At that time Lackey was the only critical access hospital in the state with this system and is only the 11th hospital in the nation to obtain one. The da Vinci 5, the most advanced robotic-assisted surgical system available, has been operational at The MAC since the beginning of July 2025, and Dr. Emily Johnson, and the surgical team there, performed the first-ever robotic procedure in a Critical Access Hospital in the state of Mississippi last year.
In addition, Lackey has recently partnered with Capital Ortho, a leader in orthopedic and pain-management care, to form Forest Ortho and Pain across the street from The MAC saving patients a drive to Jackson for orthopedic and pain management care.
Although, it is unclear at this time exactly how the state will distribute the funds, or if Scott County and Lackey will benefit from those funds, the governor did say “the plan is focused on improving healthcare and patient outcomes for Mississippians, strengthening the state’s rural health workforce, and ensuring sustainable access to care for those who need it most. Additionally, when fully implemented, the goal of the plan is to ensure that by 2031, every rural Mississippian will have reliable access to high-quality healthcare services, both in-person and through telehealth, supporting increased access points and healthier communities across the state.”
With the quality of care currently available at The MAC, residents are already enjoying services that were previously either unavailable, or required a trip to Jackson or Meridian to secure. A new hospital would complete the medical mecca on Airport Road in Forest, and Sawyer says he hopes that will become a reality sooner, rather than later regardless of the effects of the OBBBA.
“We are still working to break ground this year on the new hospital,” he concluded. “We are working on some other options to acquire the financing for the new facility. We are optimistic.”
This coverage is supported by a grant from Press Forward Mississippi, part of a nationwide philanthropic effort to strengthen local news so communities stay informed, connected and engaged.
