Healthcare Coordinating Council; reconstitute and require to make report on specific health goals for the state.

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To: Public Health and Human
Services
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Scott

HOUSE BILL NO. 186

AN ACT TO REENACT SECTIONS 41-105-1 AND 41-105-3, MISSISSIPPI 1
CODE OF 1972, WHICH WERE REPEALED BY OPERATION OF LAW BY SECTION 2
7, CHAPTER 402, LAWS OF 2017, FOR THE PURPOSE OF RECONSTITUTING 3
THE HEALTHCARE ADVISORY COUNCIL AND DIRECTING THE APPOINTMENT OF 4
MEMBERS TO THE COUNCIL; TO ESTABLISH A COMPREHENSIVE PREVENTIVE 5
HEALTH CARE PLAN FOR MISSISSIPPI AND DIRECT THE COUNCIL TO DEVELOP 6
AND MAKE A REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE AND THE GOVERNOR FOR THE 2026 7
REGULAR SESSION; TO SPECIFY HEALTH CARE GOALS FOR THE STATE THAT 8
THE COUNCIL SHALL CONSIDER; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 9
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 10
SECTION 1. Section 41-105-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, which 11
was repealed by operation of law by Section 7, Chapter 402, Laws 12
of 2017, is reenacted as follows: 13
41-105-1. (1) There is created the Healthcare Coordinating 14
Council, which will be responsible for making recommendations to 15
the Legislature regarding the establishment of a long-range, 16
comprehensive preventive health care plan. Appointments to the 17
council shall be made before July 1, 2026, by the appointing 18
officers named in subsection (2) and the council shall develop and 19
make a report to the 2027 Regular Session of the Legislature on 20
the health goals for Mississippi specified in Section 41-105-3. 21
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(2) The council shall consist of fifteen (15) members to be 22
appointed as follows: 23
(a) Two (2) members of the Mississippi House of 24
Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House of 25
Representatives to serve four-year terms; 26
(b) Two (2) members of the Mississippi Senate appointed 27
by the Lieutenant Governor to serve four-year terms; 28
(c) One (1) representative of an appropriate state 29
agency appointed by the Lieutenant Governor to serve a six-year 30
term; 31
(d) One (1) representative of an appropriate state 32
agency appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives to 33
serve a two-year term; 34
(e) Two (2) members from appropriate state agencies 35
appointed by the Governor to serve four-year terms; 36
(f) One (1) registered appointed by the Governor to 37
serve a two-year term; 38
(g) One (1) consumer of health care services who is not 39
a health care provider appointed by the Lieutenant Governor to 40
serve a four-year term; 41
(h) One (1) health advocate appointed by the Speaker of 42
the House of Representatives to serve a six-year term; 43
(i) One (1) dietary nutritionist appointed by the 44
Lieutenant Governor to serve a two-year term; 45
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(j) One (1) consumer of health care services who is not 46
a health care provider appointed by the Speaker of the House of 47
Representatives to serve a four-year term; 48
(k) One (1) health care provider appointed by the 49
Governor to serve a six-year term; and 50
(l) One (1) consumer of health care services who is not 51
a health care provider appointed by the Governor to serve a 52
four-year term. 53
(3) The appointing officers shall give due regard to gender, 54
race and geographic distribution in making their appointments to 55
the council. 56
(4) The Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House of 57
Representatives shall jointly call the first meeting of the 58
council on or before July 1, 2026. At its first meeting, the 59
council shall elect a chairman and other necessary officers from 60
among its membership. The chairman and other officers shall be 61
elected annually by the council. The council shall adopt bylaws 62
and rules for its efficient operation. The council may establish 63
committees that will be responsible for conducting specific 64
council programs or activities. 65
(5) The council shall meet and conduct business at least 66
quarterly. All meetings of the council and any committees of the 67
council will be open to the public, with opportunities for public 68
comment provided on a regular basis. Notice of all meetings shall 69
be given as provided in the Open Meetings Act (Section 25-41-1 et 70
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seq.) and appropriate notice also shall be given to all persons so 71
requesting of the date, time and place of each meeting. Eight (8) 72
members of the council shall constitute a quorum for the 73
transaction of business. 74
(6) The council is assigned jointly to the State Department 75
of Health, Mississippi Forum on Children and Families, the 76
Mississippi Health Advocacy Program and the Children's Defense 77
Fund Black Community Crusade for Children for administrative 78
purposes only. Those four (4) organizations shall designate staff 79
to assist the council. 80
(7) Members of the council who are not legislators, state 81
officials or state employees may be reimbursed for mileage and 82
actual expenses incurred in the performance of their duties by the 83
four (4) administering organizations designated in subsection (6) 84
of this section, if funds are available to the organizations for 85
that purpose. Legislative members of the council will be paid 86
from the contingent expense funds of their respective houses in 87
the same manner as provided for committee meetings when the 88
Legislature is not in session. However, legislative members will 89
not be paid per diem or expenses for attending meetings of the 90
council while the Legislature is in session. No council member 91
may incur per diem, travel or other expenses unless previously 92
authorized by vote, at a meeting of the council, which action must 93
be recorded in the official minutes of the meeting. 94
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SECTION 2. Section 41-105-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, which 95
was repealed by operation of law by Section 7, Chapter 402, Laws 96
of 2017, is reenacted as follows: 97
41-105-3. The Healthcare Coordinating Council has the 98
following duties: 99
(a) Develop recommendations for a long-range preventive 100
health care plan for the period beginning July 1, 2026, through 101
July 1, 2036; 102
(b) Consider the feasibility of implementing the 103
following preventive health care strategies: 104
(i) Maternal and child health goals for 105
Mississippi, which shall include objectives to: 106
1. Reduce infant mortality by ten percent 107
(10%) by 2035; 108
2. Reduce low-birth weight by ten percent 109
(10%) by 2035; 110
3. Provide annual checkups for all mothers 111
and children enrolled in WIC; and 112
4. Increase breast-feeding rate to Southeast 113
region's average; 114
(ii) Health access goal for Mississippi shall be 115
to increase the number of citizens with health insurance coverage 116
by twenty-five percent (25%) by 2035; 117
(iii) Health education goals for Mississippi, 118
which shall include objectives to: 119
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1. Establish an early childhood education 120
foundation; 121
2. Implement comprehensive health education 122
for all children, Grades K-6; and 123
3. Establish child screening referral 124
initiatives; 125
(iv) Chronic disease goals for Mississippi, which 126
shall include objectives to: 127
1. Develop a diabetes practice standards plan 128
to reduce diabetes by five percent (5%) by 2035; 129
2. Lower the Mississippi obesity rate to less 130
than twenty percent (20%) by 2030; 131
3. Create a comprehensive student education, 132
screening and referral program; and 133
4. Develop a practice plan for 134
Cardio-Vascular Disease (CVD); and 135
(v) Other health goals for Mississippi, which 136
shall include objectives to: 137
1. Increase long-term care (LTC) options; 138
2. Encourage public and private employers to 139
promote wellness; 140
3. Counsel and recruit youth in public 141
schools to increase number of minorities in health professions; 142
and 143
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ST: Healthcare Coordinating Council;
reconstitute and require to make report on
specific health goals for the state.
4. Increase the high school graduation rate 144
to seventy-five percent (75%) by 2030; 145
(c) Consider the feasibility of including additional 146
preventive health care strategies in the plan; 147
(d) For each element of the plan recommended by the 148
council, the following should be established: 149
(i) Performance benchmarks, 150
(ii) Projected costs, and 151
(iii) Projected benefits; 152
(e) At the meetings of the council, the council shall 153
review level of spending by category, revise spending estimates, 154
assess feasibility of expansions, consider cost options and note 155
changes in applicable federal policy; 156
(f) After the initial report to the 2027 Regular 157
Session of the Legislature, make an annual report to the 158
Legislature by September 1 on the status of the implementation of 159
the plan including recommendations for legislative action; and 160
(g) Make the annual report available to the public. 161
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from 162
and after its passage. 163