On July 4, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed into law his One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). It passed by narrow margins in both chambers of Congress.
Part of the OBBBA is a program called Rural Health Transformation (RHT), promising $50B to states approved for distribution of program funds for which Mississippi qualifies. According to www.cms.gov the monies will be allocated over a period of five years, $10B each year from 2026 through 2030. All 50 states received funding this year.
Simpson County is home to Magee General Hospital (MGH) and Simpson General Hospital (SGH), both considered rural facilities. The cuts made in the OBBBA are believed to negatively impact Mississippi’s rural healthcare delivery systems. The RHT funds are designed to help shore up these facilities and the services they offer.
On December 29, 2025, Governor Tate Reeves held a press conference announcing that Mississippi received $205.9M RHT funds. Mississippi’s neighboring states of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee received similar amounts, all over $203M.
Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson, who is running for governor in the 2027 election, shared his thoughts on the impact of loss of funds as well as RHT funds now available.
He said, “Reductions in federal healthcare spending inevitably create pressure for rural hospitals and the communities they serve. The potential impacts are numerous – ranging from tighter operating margins to challenges maintaining access to certain services – and it would be easy to focus solely on those negatives. To Mississippi’s credit, the state has been awarded just under $206 million in the first round. This presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for rural hospitals to rethink how we operate – not to do ‘the same old thing,’ but to build models that deliver long term, sustainable care for our communities.”
Gipson continued, “However, this moment requires us to focus just as much on opportunity and responsibility. At the national level, there is clearly a growing concern about federal debt, and it appears Congress and the Administration are attempting to address that reality while introducing a new policy framework that emphasizes shared responsibility across the system.”
Magee General recently completed a facilities renovation to better meet the needs of Magee, according to Stan Bulger, former MGH board member. The project was funded by a $4M grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration. In a press release published December 11, 2025, in The Magee Courier, hospital CEO Gregg Gibbes said these renovations would have never been achieved without support from Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith. The Surgery Department received extensive renovations: three new state-of-the-art surgical suites; new pre-operative/post-operative areas; and a new surgical nurses’ station. Other areas also received upgrades.
Gibbes added, “Simpson General Hospital, Magee General Hospital and their consortium partners (Covington County Hospital, Smith County Emergency Hospital and South Central Regional Medical Center) collectively serve a large portion of Mississippi's residents in the southern part of the state and have done so faithfully since the 1940s and 1950s. These rural hospitals have consistently operated in an environment of uncertainty and change, yet they continue to persevere as major cornerstones of care and economic impact in the communities they serve.” Gibbes serves as CEO for all five facilities listed.
Similarly, SGH broke ground on renovations in September 2025 with expected completion in the fall of 2026. Patient suites will receive upgrades along with several departments including pharmacy, lobby, gift shop, physical therapy department and a new laboratory facility. The exterior of the hospital will also be refreshed. Again Hyde-Smith was instrumental in obtaining funding for the renovation.
Bulger served on the board of MGH during difficult days as the hospital faced closure amid bankruptcy. He brought decades of financial and organizational experience to the table that included reorganization of the largest nonprofit agency in Washington State, United Way, during the late 80s/early 90s.
Bulger explained, “It was very similar to what we have here at Magee General in the sense that you had to bring in different collaborative types of organizations and get them to work together as one unit and everybody be happy rather than competing for services.”
According to Bulger, it took about four years to pull MGH out of bankruptcy. Long before the OBBBA passage, Magee General began to put in place a plan to accommodate the aging population in Magee, making adjustments to delivery of care. “Most people don't know and probably don't care but we lose on an annual basis between $2 to $3 million dollars a year,” he stated, adding that the ER had to see patients regardless of insurance or the lack of it. Because of the financial loss it was simply a losing proposition. It was at that point the board began searching for a CEO ultimately hiring Gibbes.
In regards to the reductions MGH and SGH face due to the passage of OBBBA Gibbes commented, “While we undoubtedly anticipate that challenges will accompany the reductions, history has proven that these rural hospitals can and will adapt in order to continue serving. There's always been a storm on the horizon or certain headwinds that rural hospitals face. That's the nature of this business. However, it's our job to find the certain opportunity that exists and make the absolute best of it for our communities. Looking back over the past few years, all of our consortium hospitals have achieved progress and success, and the biggest reason for that is community support. The rural hospitals simply cannot exist without the support of their communities, and this trust and support, along with continued collaboration, will be even more paramount as we move forward.”
Gipson also weighed in how best to address the reductions and what adjustments need to be made. “Adjustments being discussed and implemented focus on sustainability, efficiency and transformation rather than simple cost-cutting. The overarching theme is collaboration – between hospitals, state leadership, and policymakers – to ensure rural healthcare remains viable. By working together we can tackle these issues in a way that healthcare delivery can be enhanced throughout rural Mississippi such as through telehealth initiatives to reach people at rural health clinics or even at home.”
He added that Mississippi rural hospitals are not alone in this journey. Gibson stated, “We are fortunate to have groups like the Mississippi Healthcare Collaborative working tirelessly behind the scenes with hospital executives and legislators to protect the interests of Mississippi’s healthcare system.”
Bulger pointed out oversight and accountability is non-negotiable to tracking where and how the funds are spent, citing the current fraud scandal in Minnesota and Mississippi’s recent welfare scandal. “Who's going to determine the need – and how – and when? We're getting now $206 million dollars. Who's going to have control of that and who's going to say that whoever might be at the top of that agency won't do the exact same thing that these folks did? Right now it's making the headlines in Minnesota. They didn't have a process where there's any oversight; you not only have to have the process but have some oversight of that to make sure that you don't have the corruption in the process.”
Gibson explained, “A significant amount of work is happening behind the scenes at the executive and legislative levels to ensure that RHT funds reach Mississippi and are deployed in ways that create meaningful, lasting impact.
“While some of this activity may not always be visible to the public, there is a strong focus on accountability, appropriate oversight, and ensuring these funds are used strategically – not as short term fixes, but as catalysts for transformation. From the perspective of hospitals I’ve talked with we see a genuine effort to align policy, funding and outcomes in support of rural communities. Additional information on ongoing work by state lawmakers can be obtained by the Mississippi Healthcare Collaborative and Hospital Association. The Mississippi Legislature just convened today (January 6) for their 90 day session so no doubt there will be updates soon.”
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.
