MS HB267

Establishes the Mississippi Rural Hospital Transition and Improvement Grant Program administered by the State Department of Health to provide grants to rural hospitals for increasing healthcare access and hospital sustainability

Defines eligible rural hospitals as those with 50 or fewer acute care beds in counties under 60,000 population or municipalities under 7,500 population, or those designated as critical access hospitals

Authorizes $5 million annually in total grants through July 1, 2019, with individual hospitals limited to $250,000 per fiscal year

Permits grant funds to be used for modifying services, developing hospital-based physician practices, establishing telemedicine systems, electronic health records, or covering critical access hospital designation expenses

Prohibits using grants to supplant federal funds or pay existing debt, and creates a nine-member advisory council to review applications and make recommendations to the department