Health

Federal judge blocks Gov. Phil Bryant’s executive order in insurance dispute

JACKSON, Mississippi (AP) — A federal judge Monday blocked Gov. Phil Bryant from compelling Mississippi’s largest health insurer to resume paying its in-network rate to a chain of 10 hospitals.

U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate read a temporary restraining order from the bench saying Bryant didn’t provide enough proof to justify an executive order he issued last week… […]

Health

Chaney says gov. hands control to feds

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant is handing control of a state health insurance exchange over to the federal government by trying to block creation of a state-run exchange, Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney told the governor in a letter.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter, and in it, Chaney tells Bryant, a fellow Republican, that the federal government will run an exchange in Mississippi if the state does not create its own.

“Phil, there is simply no legitimate reason to impede the development of a state-based exchange in this point in time,” Chaney wrote. […]