At Tuesday's town hall event, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) spoke about his suggestions for improving Mississippi healthcare.
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00:00Good evening. I am Rhonda Page. I am a retired state and federal employee and I'm a current
00:12federal independent contractor. So I first want to say thank you for continuing to fight
00:21for those employees. I have a lot of my peers who are very distraught at this time. For myself,
00:28I was in government for over 40 years. I don't let the foolishness distract me. I think it's
00:33an intentional distraction and I think it's really ignorance of the programs in the government.
00:39They don't know how to take it apart. They don't know how to make it work. So they're
00:42just throwing stuff at us. So I try to keep them calm, but I want to thank you for standing
00:47in that fight because I do understand there are people I work with who are really going
00:51through it right now. I like to operate in my sphere of what I can influence at the time.
00:58And since moving back to Adams County, there are some things that I think are critical.
01:05On your last Zoom, I heard you talk about the health care system here. And my work has been
01:13in the health care system for over 40 years. And there are far too many people dying in this
01:19county because they're not getting preventive care. And many of them are way much younger
01:25than I am. So I heard you mention that on the Zoom. And I would like to ask you, what are
01:31some of your ideas to improve health care in the Southwest Mississippi area?
01:37Well, I'm glad you mentioned that. We just announced grants to the Community Health Center
01:47where you didn't have enough primary care physicians. There are 29 counties in the 2nd District. All 29 are medically underserved.
02:09That means we don't have enough doctors or nurses to go around. I'm the only person who voted for the Affordable Care Act, which has provided health care for over 20 million people in this country who otherwise wouldn't have health insurance.
02:27Now, on top of that, there's monies that we have made available through the Medicaid expansion program that if the state of Mississippi would accept the money,
02:41they'd get $1.3 billion right now to go toward that community you're talking about. And we're 10 years into that program.
02:53So we missed 10 years, times $1.3 billion that could have gone to the state of Mississippi to address the underserved health care needs in this state.
03:09So our governor, Bryant before and this one now, they won't take the money. And the money comes with no strings attached.
03:19The only string is you got to work with hospitals and communities on whatever those issues are. And that's it. So that's it. Apart from that, we have created an opportunity for our boys and girls to go to college, to go to medical school.
03:43And we got to try to get them back. See, our problem right now, and I'm battling that too. My granddaughter went to Xavier in New Orleans and went on to Tulane Medical School.
03:59And she's doing her residency. And, you know, I'm doing all kinds of stuff. You know, I'm trying to, you know, I got two acres of land I'm going to put up and trying to get her to come back home when she finished.
04:13And then I said, well, you know, she finished. And then I said, well, you know, Paw Paw getting old, he going to need a doctor. You know, I'm laying it on. And then I guess she said, I'm going to cut you off right now.
04:31She said, Paw Paw, I'm going to be an OBGYN. So, so, so, so, so, so, you know, I got to, you know, I got to, you know, if y'all got an idea of what I can do to convince my granddaughter to come back home.
04:49I even said, I said, look, you know, you can live in New Orleans where you went to school and work in Mississippi, you know, you know, I'm, I, I, I, but it's tough when you got kids who come from communities like this to try to get them to either stay home or come back.
05:12And, and, and, and, and, you know, uh, I wish, uh, we could create a program where we could create incentives for that to happen because, look, uh, I've supported the midwife with for a program.
05:28So if I don't have a doctor, you know, I would deliver it in the front room and my mom and dad is how two chickens and a bushel of potatoes was, was what I cost.
05:42You know, cause my fifth grade teacher was also the midwife in Bolton, Mississippi. And so I got those experiences. Some of that we got to bring back those programs available.
05:57Uh, so, I mean, there, there are a lot of things, but you got to have elected officials who want to take the opportunity and, uh, uh, our state just hadn't seized the opportunity.
06:11Uh, Medicaid. We want a few states where for children, we don't have dental care in a Medicaid program. That doesn't make sense. Children always got, there's something wrong with them.
06:26Uh, you got to go to the doctor. But if I got to pay for the dentist, you know, I might not have the money. All we got to do is write dental in the plan and the federal government's going to pay 90% of the cost of the, of the, of the dental program.
06:48But they don't put it in. And so that's why people go to Louisiana and join that program, go to Tennessee, join that program. And you know, they got them listed. You know, people got to survive. We can just write it in. Yeah.
07:07Well, full disclosure, I'm one of those children who left Mississippi. I went to Emory in Atlanta and I did not come home because the same opportunity wasn't here.
07:17Sure.
07:18But I've worked with federal qualified health centers for the last 15 years and I have spoken to Ms. Collins and I have told her I am more than willing to work with her to bring a prominent health center in Adams and Jefferson counties.
07:33I mean, I've traveled all over the United States and other more rural places have them. I'm not quite sure if she's not getting the local support she needs, but there are federal capacity dollars available to bring it to an area where so many people are suffering from disability and from death.
07:51I mean, I just think somehow this needs to be some sort of focus and meaning to bring it here.
07:56Well, if your interest is where it is, I'll offer my office here as a place to convene a discussion around how we can make that happen.
08:12I'll be more than happy to do that.
08:13You call immediately and I will be there. I will be there.
08:16That gentleman right there, if you give him that, we'll try to figure it out.
08:21Okay, I think Ms. Marsau has my name. I've been down there two or three times to request a meeting. I haven't gotten a meeting yet, but I'm available.
08:28Well, now you know I represent 700 and 70,000 people.
08:33And everybody want to talk to Benny. And, you know, most of them, well, look, look, I'm probably as accessible as anybody you'll ever meet.
08:51Okay.
08:52Now that you're back home, you got a talent. I want to help you showcase that talent in this community.
09:00I'm open. Now, the other thing.
09:02Now, now, hold, hold on. Look, just cause you came home, don't mean you don't, you don't hold the show.
09:09Now, look, I'm going to, I'm going to talk to you.
09:13No, but I, no, no, no, no, no.
09:15I think this is something you'll appreciate. I think this is something you'll appreciate.
09:18Now, now, look, you've asked three or four questions.
09:20Okay.
09:21Be considerate for some of the other folks.
09:23All right.
09:24All right.