Laurel Leader-Call
Three area hospitals to receive part of $24.75M federal grant
From staff reports
Three area rural hospitals were among 20 statewide that will receive federal grant funding through a program created to help them sustain their workforces and continue to provide care, Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R.-Miss.) announced.
The grants will assist Jasper General Hospital in Bay Springs, Magee General Hospital and Wayne General Hospital.
Hyde-Smith, as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, helped secure the $24.7 million appropriated in FY2026 for the Rural Hospital Provider Assistance Program. This grant program is administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration which recently approved grants to 132 hospitals nationally.
“I encouraged providers in Mississippi to apply for these funds because I know that every little bit helps in the struggle to maintain services and keep the doors open. This effort is more difficult because of structural payment disadvantages linked to Mississippi’s low average wage index, which is a problem Congress must address,” Hyde-Smith said. “I’m pleased these eligible hospitals availed themselves of these federal resources.”
The Rural Hospital Provider Assistance Program award is formula-based and calculated by dividing the total available funding ($24.75 million in FY2026) equally among eligible rural hospitals that apply. As such, Mississippi facilities will receive $3.75 million in total or just over $187,500 per facility:
As part of her rural health care focus, Hyde-Smith has cosponsored legislation to address workforce shortages, including the Save Struggling Hospitals Act that would codify the Medicare low-wage index hospital policy that increased Medicare wage index values for hospitals in the bottom 25th percentile. Its enactment would ensure Mississippi hospitals in rural and low-wage areas receive fair Medicare reimbursement for the essential services they provide and help prevent closure.