Overview
Mississippi has been active in promoting telehealth services, as one of the first states to enact parity laws for telehealth services in the state. Since before the COVID-19 pandemic, the state has had comprehensive parity laws that require health plans to cover and reimburse telehealth services on the same basis and at the same rate as in-person services. Legislators also put forward a proposal to study and implement a state-based public option.
In the provider market, the state requires healthcare providers to apply for and receive a Certificate of Need (CON) prior to the construction, acquisition, or transfer of ownership of a health care facility. In addition to maintaining a CON program, the legislature has been active in pursuing other strategies to ensure market competition. Mississippi was one of the few states to propose legislation in recent terms that would prohibit anticompetitive contract clauses in provider and insurer contracts, including most-favored nation clauses and all-or-nothing provisions.
Mississippi has also made various attempts to rein in healthcare costs and prescription drug prices in the state. As scrutiny of pharmacy benefit managers continues to intensify across the country, Mississippi became the first state to sue drug makers and PBMs for conspiring to set prices for insulin in a lawsuit filed by the state attorney general. Additionally, to promote transparency in pharmaceutical pricing, the state passed the Prescription Drug Consumer Affordable Alternative Payment Options Act, which allows pharmacists to provide patients with information about affordable alternatives of drugs. Mississippi law also provides robust protection for consumers against surprise medical billing by prohibiting balance billing in both emergency and non-emergency situations.
See below for an overview of existing Mississippi state mandates. Click on citation tab for detailed information of specific statutes (click link to download statute text).
State Action
Latest Legislative Session: 1/5/2021 - 5/15/2021 (2021 term). *Current session bill updates are ongoing. Check back weekly for updates.
SB 2064 – Mississippi
Introduced: 2024 Status: In Process
Health Care Certificate of Need Law; Repeal.
SB 2064 – Mississippi
Introduced: 2019 Status: Inactive / Dead
An Act To Amend Section 43-13-117, Mississippi Code Of 1972, To Authorize Medicaid Reimbursement To Physicians Providing Telemedicine Medical Services To Students In A School-based Setting; And For Related Purposes.
SB 2066 – Mississippi
Introduced: 2019 Status: Inactive / Dead
An Act To Amend Section 43-13-117, Mississippi Code Of 1972, To Clarify That It Is The Responsibility Of The Division Of Medicaid To Reimburse Services To Medicaid-eligible Children With An Individualized Education Plan (iep) Provided …
SB 2070 – Mississippi
Introduced: 2023 Status: Inactive / Dead
To revise medicaid eligibility to include those individuals who are entitled to benefits under the federal patient protection and affordable care act of 2010 (aca), as amended; to amend section 43-13-117, mississippi code of 1972, …
SB 2076 – Mississippi
Introduced: 2018 Status: Inactive / Dead
PRESCRIPTION DRUGS CONSUMER AFFORDABLE ALTERNATIVE PAYMENT OPTIONS ACT. This bill allows pharmacists to provide additional information to a patient regarding the cost and clinical efficacy of more affordable alternatives for prescription medications. It also prohibits …
Miss. Code Ann. § 83-9-6.4. Individual and group health insurance policies to permit partial supply of prescription medication for purpose of synchronizing patient’s medication under certain circumstances [Effective January 1, 2019]: Accident and Health Insurance – Mississippi
Introduced: Status: Enacted
Individual and group health insurance policies providing prescription drug coverage in the state shall permit and apply a prorated daily cost sharing date to prescriptions that are dispensed by a network pharmacy under the following …
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Miss. Code Ann. § 25-15-103. Amount of coverage: Group Insurance for Employees of Local Governments and Their Institutions and Agencies – Mississippi
Introduced: Status: Enacted
Regulations determining employer’s amount of coverage for group insurance policies.
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Miss. Code Ann. § 41-127-1. Licensed health care practioners authorized to provide health care services via electronic means; standards of practice: Telemedicine Services – Mississippi
Introduced: Status: Enacted
A health care practioner licensed in this state may prescribe, dispense, or administer drugs or medical supplies, or otherwise provide treatment recommendations to a patient after having performed an appropriate examination of the patient either …
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Miss. Code Ann. § 41-63-1. Definitions: Evaluation and Review of Professional Health Services Providers – Mississippi
Introduced: Status: Enacted
Definitions for evaluating and reviewing professional health services providers.
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Miss. Code Ann. § 41-7-191. Certificate of need program; activities for which certificate is required: Health Care Certificate of Need Law of 1979 – Mississippi
Introduced: Status: Enacted
Includes a list of activites that require a certificate of need.
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Federal Trade Commission and State of Idaho v. St. Luke’s Health System, Ltd and Saltzer Medical Group, P.A. – California, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington
District Court: District of Idaho Status: Decided
In March 2013, the FTC and the Idaho Attorney General filed a joint complaint challenging the merger betweenSt. Luke’s Health System, Idaho’s largest health system, …
In re: Suboxone Antitrust Litigation (State of Wisconsin, et al. v. Indivior Inc, et al.) – Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin
District Court: E.D. Pennsylvania Status: Pending
In September 2016, 35 state attorneys general and the District of Columbia brought a multi-district case against pharmaceutical manufacturer Indivior, MonoSol RX et al., alleging …
In Re: Generic Pharmaceuticals Pricing Antitrust Litigation – Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin
District Court: Eastern District of Pennsylvania Status: Pending
Plaintiffs are attorney generals from 48 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia, as well as classes of private plaintiffs that filed an antitrust …
Additional Resources
STATE BUDGET
The State of Mississippi fiscal year runs from July 1 through June 30. Mississippi enacted its annual state budget during the regular legislative session. To view Mississippi’s latest appropriation bulletin, click here.
REGULATION & ENFORCEMENT
- Mississippi was one of 16 states to file an amicus brief supporting the FTC’s winning position in the Ninth Circuit appeal of St. Luke’s Health Care Sys. v. FTC, No. 14-35173 (March 7, 2014), decided February 10, 2015. The States’ brief stated that the acceleration of health care costs due to the growth of large health care provider systems had become a matter of grave concern for the states.
KEY RESOURCES
- Mississippi State Legislature
- Mississippi Office of the Attorney General
- Mississippi Insurance Department
- Baptist Memorial Health Care (online cost estimator and comparison tool)
- Mississippi State Department of Health