Attorney General investigates opioid distributors

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As part of Mississippi’s multi-pronged approach to combating the opioid addiction, Attorney General Jim Hood announced Tuesday an investigation into three national opioid distributors. Hood, who joins attorneys general from 32 other states in this effort, said he’s looking into whether distributors Amerisource Bergen, Cardinal Health and McKeeson Medical Supply illegally marketed, sold or distributed prescription opioids. “A distributor of drugs is required to notify DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) if they’re shipping a whole bunch of drugs to a pharmacy somewhere, like in the state of Mississippi, which is in unusual numbers. They have a duty with suspicious transactions just like the banks do,” Hood said. “So now we’re checking into whether they have done their duty under the law.”

New West Nile Virus cases reported in Lee, DeSoto counties

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The Mississippi State Department of Health reports two new human cases of West Nile Virus, bringing the state total to 47 this year. The new cases were in Lee and DeSoto counties. So far this year, cases have been reported in Bolivar, Calhoun, Clarke, Clay (2), Covington, DeSoto, Forrest (4), Hinds (8), Humphreys (2), Jones, Lauderdale, Leake, Lee (3), Leflore, Lincoln (2), Lowndes, Madison (4), Monroe, Noxubee, Perry, Rankin (6), Scott, Wilkinson, and Yazoo counties. Two deaths have been reported in Forrest and Humphreys counties. In 2016, Mississippi had 43 West Nile Virus cases and two deaths.

Medicaid: Allegations of bias in awarding care contracts are ‘disingenuous’

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The Division of Medicaid emphatically rejects the official protests of two insurance companies asking the agency to redo the procurement process for its managed care program, MississippiCAN. The insurers, Amerigroup and the new state-based nonprofit, Mississippi True, had argued that the agency had unfairly discriminated against them when awarding managed care contracts in June. Some arguments of their protest were that Medicaid used a biased grading system for the proposals, that the agency had improperly approved the contracts and that agency director Dr. David Dzielak had an improper relationship with one of the companies granted a contract, Molina Healthcare. But the Division of Medicaid’s office of procurement rejected each of these arguments on Tuesday, affirming its earlier decision to award the three MississippiCAN contracts to incumbent insurers United HealthCare and Magnolia Health and a newcomer, the California-based Molina Healthcare. “The protests were without merit, and the allegations against me and the agency were disingenuous.

Mississippi Roundup

2017 West Nile Virus cases outpace previous years

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The Department of Health reports five new human cases of West Nile Virus, bringing the state total to 41 for the year. The new cases are in Clarke, Hinds, Lauderdale, Monroe and Yazoo counties. Last week, the Department of Health reported that two people had died of the virus. August and September are peak season for West Nile Virus, and the number of infections typically skyrockets during those months. But West Nile seems to have a firmer grip on the state in 2017 than it has in past years.

West Nile claims two more victims

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Two more Mississippians have died from West Nile Virus this year, bringing the total number of deaths in 2017 to three. The two deaths were in residents of Humphreys and Forrest counties, reported the Department of Health on Monday. The Department of Health also reported 12 new cases of the virus, bringing the state total to 36 this year. “This sadly serves as a reminder that the threat of West Nile virus should be taken very seriously,” State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers said in a release last month. “While many people may be infected with West Nile and not show symptoms, in a small number of cases, the infection can cause very serious complications, even death.”

In 2017, cases have been reported in Bolivar, Clay, Covington, Forrest, Hinds, Humphreys, Jones, Leake, Leflore, Lincoln, Lowndes, Madison, Noxubee, Perry, Rankin, Scott, and Wilkinson counties.

Mississippi Roundup

Health department reports one new case of West Nile Virus

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The Department of Health reported one new case of West Nile Virus on Monday in a resident of Hinds County. Last week a resident of Grenada County died of the virus, the first person to die of the virus in 2017. So far this year, 19 people in Mississippi have contracted West Nile. “This sadly serves as a reminder that the threat of West Nile virus should be taken very seriously,” said State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers in a release last week. “While many people may be infected with West Nile and not show symptoms, in a small number of cases, the infection can cause very serious complications, even death.”

In 2017, cases have been reported in Covington, Forrest, Grenada, Hinds, Humphreys, Jones, Leflore, Lincoln, Madison, Perry, Rankin and Scott counties.