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Mississippi Hospital Association warns Medicare Advantage growth, HR1 changes could strain hospitals
Summary
The Mississippi Hospital Association told the Insurance Committee that growing Medicare Advantage enrollment and proposed federal changes in H.R.1 may reduce state-directed supplemental payments and tighten hospital finances, while urging better transparency and strategic use of a new rural health fund.
The Mississippi Hospital Association urged the state’s insurance committee on Sept. 11 to monitor rapid Medicare Advantage enrollment and to plan for federal changes it said could reduce hospital-directed supplemental payments.
Richard Roberson, MHA president and CEO, told the committee that Mississippi hospitals deliver large-scale services at comparatively low cost but face revenue pressures from low reimbursement and rising operating costs. "Our hospital industry pays almost a $500,000,000 in taxes to the division of Medicaid to fund those supplemental payments," Roberson said, adding that the supplemental payment program has grown and that, when adjusted for payer tax flows, it resulted in an estimated net lift of about $750 million in the most recent change.
Roberson said about 44% of Medicare-eligible Mississippians are now enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans, a level he described as high and consequential for hospitals because MA plans can narrow networks, require prior authorization and delay post-acute approvals. "Diminished access to quality care, delays, denials, excessive prior authorization from the MA plans... 81 percent of our rural clinicians report quality reductions due to some of these requirements," Roberson said.
Roberson also reviewed the possible effects of federal legislation known in testimony as "the 1 big beautiful bill" (H.R.1). He warned that parts of the bill could step down average commercial rates and cap supplemental payments, producing an estimated $100 million to $150 million annual reduction in payments for Mississippi hospitals over a phased period, though he cautioned details and CMS guidance remain under development.
At the same time, Roberson identified an opportunity in the bill: a Rural Health Transformation Fund he said will provide no less than $100 million to Mississippi and could support infrastructure, workforce loan-repayment programs and telehealth deployment if used for sustainable models tied to payment parity.
Leah Rupp Smith, MHA general counsel and vice president for advocacy and policy, addressed artificial intelligence in billing and prior authorization systems. She said many states are drafting or passing laws to require human review of clinical determinations, transparency about automated decision tools and periodic audits of AI systems to prevent algorithmic denials.
An official from the Mississippi Department of Insurance told the committee the state is already seeing filings with rate increases up to 40% and warned that if advanced premium tax credits for exchange plans are not extended at the federal level, many people could lose subsidized coverage and slide back into the uninsured pool—an outcome that would increase uncompensated care pressures on hospitals.
Roberson argued the state should consider data-collection and reporting improvements to increase transparency around MA plans and suggested that state-level policy can mitigate some harms even where federal law governs MA plan structure. The association asked lawmakers to prioritize funding and policy designs that support rural hospital sustainability as federal changes unfold.
The committee did not vote on any proposals; MHA presenters said they will continue outreach on MA enrollment education and on using forthcoming federal rural-health funds.
