JACKSON, Miss — Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves announced Tuesday he has partially vetoed a bill to appropriate funds to the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) in Jackson, the state's only academic health science center.
The partial veto prevents $50 million in capital improvements to facilities at the center's Adult Hospital.
In a statement, Reeves said he vetoed the provision because it was not in the interest of taxpayers to commit funding to the hospital.
"UMMC's teaching center is largely funded by the state, the hospital is not," Reeves said. "They are responsible for their own operational budget - just like other hospitals. There is little reason that Mississippi taxpayers should radically increase the commitment to further subsidize the operations of UMMC."
According to the bill, the approximately $171 million provided by the state to UMMC is roughly 10% of UMMC's total annual budget of $1.7 billion.
"With all the healthcare challenges in the state, I do not think more building improvements are the best expenditure of $50 million of the people's money," Reeves said.
Legislators specified the $50 million would come from Mississippi’s pandemic recovery money from the federal government.
Medical center leaders declined to comment Wednesday.
UMMC is the state's only academic health science center, with seven different health science schools incorporating research hospitals and enrolling more than 3,000 medical students in the state.
According to UMMC's website, a major goal of the Medical Center is the elimination of differences in health status of Mississippians based on race, geography, income, or social status.