HB 1474 Mississippi House · 2025 Regular Session

Department of Health; require to conduct a review of quality of medical care provided to inmates of Department of Corrections.

HB 1474 requires the Mississippi Department of Health to review healthcare quality in state prisons. It directly affects incarcerated individuals by banning fees for certain medical services, mandating electronic appointment requests via communal kiosks, ensuring proper medication management, and requiring one licensed dietitian per correctional facility. The bill also mandates 24/7 access to medical care for all inmates. These provisions aim to standardize and improve healthcare delivery within Mississippi's correctional system.

Bill status died 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2025

House Passage

Feb 2025

Senate Passage

Mar 2025

Governor

Introduced Feb 14, 2025 Last action Mar 31, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Committee Substitute → Current version · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill title was updated from 'Committee Substitute' to 'As Passed the House', indicating the House has approved the committee's version. This is a procedural update reflecting the bill's current legislative status rather than a substantive policy change.

TECHNICAL

Updated bill version designation from 'Committee Substitute' to 'As Passed the House' to reflect the bill's current status in the legislative process.

As Introduced → Committee Substitute · 11 edits

MAJOR

This bill was amended to add new requirements for inmate healthcare oversight, including a comprehensive review of medical care provided to prisoners, prohibitions on charging inmates for certain services, and new staffing requirements. The changes expand the Department of Health's authority to investigate correctional healthcare and establish specific timelines for completing reviews and implementing improvements.

Scope change

The bill now includes specific provisions for reviewing inmate healthcare at correctional facilities, which was not present in the original version. It also adds requirements for communal kiosks, medication management protocols, and 24-hour nursing availability at correctional facilities.

REQUIREMENT

Added requirement for Department of Health to conduct comprehensive review of inmate healthcare by July 1, 2026, with follow-up review one year later

Added prohibition on charging state inmates for healthcare services provided by the correctional healthcare provider

Added requirement for communal kiosks at correctional facilities to allow inmates to request medical or dental appointments electronically

Added requirement for 24-hour nursing staff and physician on-call at each correctional facility

Added requirement for one licensed or registered dietician for all correctional facilities

Added requirement for medication management protocols for disabled inmates and those on medication

Added requirement to establish Hepatitis C Program for state inmates with 340B drug pricing assistance

Added requirement to develop plan for improving health of female inmates

TIMELINE

Set July 1, 2026 as deadline for completing the initial healthcare review, with provisions for follow-up review

ENFORCEMENT

Added requirement for Department of Corrections staff to cooperate with Department of Health during healthcare review

DEFINITION

Modified language regarding dietician employment requirements from 'at state correctional facilities' to 'for all of its correctional facilities'

Floor votes · Senate Mar 5, 2025 · House Feb 13, 2025

How they voted

51–0

Passed

Total votes 51

Mar 5, 2025

D Democratic16

16 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican35

35 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Mar 5, 2025

Upper · Passed

Passed As Amended

upper

Mar 5, 2025

Upper · Passed

Amended

upper

Mar 3, 2025

Upper · Passed

Title Suff Do Pass As Amended

upper

Feb 17, 2025

Committee

Referred To Corrections;Government Structure

upper

Feb 14, 2025

Introduced

Transmitted To Senate

lower

Feb 13, 2025

Lower · Passed

Passed

lower

Jan 30, 2025

Lower · Passed

Title Suff Do Pass Comm Sub

lower

Jan 20, 2025

Committee

Referred To Public Health and Human Services

lower

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor