95-021 -E 1. The appointment and services of certain employees of a community hospital, including administrative employees such as the chief financial officer and assistant executive director, but not including the executive director of the community hospital, as members of the board of directors or officers of a non-profit corporation serving as a preferred provider network of hospitals and physicians would violate the Mississippi Ethics in Government laws; and2. The community hospital's board of trustees contracting with the non-profit corporation serving as a preferred provider network to become a participating hospital in the preferred provider network, and under the terms of such hospital participation agreement, the community hospital may not provide health care services to employees or beneficiaries of an employer which employs a member of the community hospital's board of trustees. [23, 24, I]
95-023-E A city council member may sell insurance to community hospital employees through a program offered by the community hospital which allows payment by payroll deduction when the community hospital is jointly owned by a county and the city the council member represents if the decision to participate is solely the employees' and the premiums are paid totally by the employees, provided the council member recuse himself from participation in pertinent matters. [6, 7, 11,14, 24]95-049-E 1. A shareholder in a law firm elected to the state legislature and/or the firm may represent a private company in negotiating a contract on behalf of the private company with the state or any agency of the state when the firm's fee arrangement is not contingent upon the success of negotiating the contract or the terms of the contract.
2. The shareholder and/or the firm may represent a client in litigation between the state or any agency of the state and the private client when the representation would be on a fee basis and not contingent upon the
outcome of the litigation.3. The firm may continue its current representation of numerous health care providers, including community hospitals, private hospitals and private physicians most of which receive Medicaid reimbursement when the firm is retained by these health care providers on a hourly fee basis. [1, 24, B, E]
95-057-E It is a violation of 109 and 25-4-105(2) for the spouse, parent or child of a county supervisor to be employed by an authority of the county government. [9, 11, 14, 24, 31, A]
95-103-E A county tax assessor/collector may serve on the board of trustees of the community hospital owned by his county. The tax assessor/collector was cautioned regarding Sections 25-4-101 and 25-4-105(1). [9, 15, 24]
94-021-E A city fire chief may simultaneously serve as a Trustee of a county hospital and nursing home within the county.
94-051-E A hospital board member is a Registered Nurse who is an employee of a physician:1. The physician may not be a member of the hospital medical staff.
2. The physician may not be associated in practice with a second physician who contracts with the hospital.
3. The physician may not, with the second physician, rent space in a building owned by the hospital.
A hospital:
4. may contract with a physician who is a son of one of its board members, provided the son is financially independent of the father/board member, and the father/board member recuses himself from all matters concerning the son.
5. The son/physician may rent office space from the hospital (hospital owned building), following the above provisions.
94-079-E A city/county hospital may enter into an agreement of employment with a physician to provide professional services and the use of the physician's building and equipment by the hospital.
94-080-E 1. An attorney representing a board of supervisors may represent a gambling casino in a county which has legalized gambling, provided the county represented by the attorney has no contracts with the casino represented by the attorney.
2. An attorney representing a board of supervisors may represent a hospital board which receives county money, provided the attorney recuses himself in the event of a possible conflict of interest.
3. An attorney representing a board of supervisors may represent a board or entity which may come before the board of supervisors for approval of funding, with the same provisions found in 1 and 2.
93-060-E A regional hospital may employ the son of a county supervisor when the son is also employed by a construction firm of the Supervisor.93-061-E 1. A physician/hospital Board of Trustees member and staff physician may not contract with the hospital for the hospital to accept part payment of hospital services to the physician or his family.
2. The same hospital may not compensate the same physician for conducting pre-employment and annual physicals for hospital employees.
93-126-E A county hospital may not employ the spouse of a county Supervisor, but it may employ the emancipated son or daughter of a county Supervisor.
93-149-E An employee of a prior county hospital now leased to a private hospital may secure part-time employment with a contractor of the hospital.
92-007-E Three members of a county hospital board of trustees may not do business with the hospital and/or the county board of supervisors. Violations: Section 109; 25-4-105(2).
92-048-E Members of a community hospital board of trustees and its administrative employees may serve as members, board members or officers of a non-profit corporation organized by the hospital to provide outpatient health care services.
92-055-E An attorney representing a board of supervisors may defend a private client being sued by a county hospital which is a political subdivision of the state and subsidized by the county.
92-076-E An emancipated daughter of a supervisor may be employed by the county hospital.
92-097-E A community hospital may contract with a newspaper which employs the spouses of tow of its employees, neither of whom have a material financial interest in the newspaper.
92-101-E A county hospital may employ the emancipated son of a supervisor.
92-105-E A community hospital may not contract with a bank in which one of the hospital trustees owns less than 1% of the stock which investment is valued at over $80,000. Violations: Section 109; 25-4-105(2).
92-142-E Three banks may contract with a public hospital to either provide services and/or serve as depositories when one or more trustees of the hospital possess less than a material financial interest in any of the banks. Caution: 25-4-105(1).
92-194-E A CPA whose accounting firm contracts with the city for city audit purposes may become appointed by the county to the board of trustees of the city-county hospital.
92-21 9-E 1. A Legislator may serve as an uncompensated member of a county hospital board of directors. Caution: 25-4-105(1).
2. A Legislator may not become employed as a counselor for a particular community college upward bound program. Violations: Section 109; 25-4-105(2).
3. A Legislator may not receive compensation as a consultant for a community action agency. Violations: Section 109; 25-4-105(2).
92-231-E A county hospital employee may not continue in that position after taking office as a supervisor. Violations: Section 109; 25-4-105(2).
92-234-ER 1. Certain employees of a hospital system, including the chief financial officer and the administrators of the system hospitals but not the executive director of the system, may be appointed to and serve as members of the board of directors or officers of a non-profit corporation.
2. The system board of trustees contracting with the corporation for the system hospitals to become participating hospitals in the preferred provider network and under the terms of a hospital participation agreement, may provide health care services to the employees or beneficiaries of a self-insured employer which employs a member of the system board of trustees, where the system board of trustees does not contract with the self-insured employer. Caution: 25-4-105(1).
90-038-E A board of trustees of a county medical center may hire the emancipated son-in- law of one of its members to serve as chief financial officer for the medical center.
90-068-E A member of a hospital board of trustees may not purchase hospital property as a highest and best bidder. Violations: 25-4-105(2); Section 109; 25-4-105(3)(b).
90-069-E The participation of trustees of a hospital board in a hospital health insurance program, the trustees paying their own premiums, depends upon the enabling legislation.
90-075-E An elected coroner may simultaneously be employed as an EMT of a county supported hospital.
90-081-E 1. A former executive employee of a hospital having resigned for medical reasons and receiving disability income from an insurance company under contract with the hospital may be appointed to the hospital board of trustees. Caution: 25-4-101.
2. A former executive employee of a hospital having resigned for medical reasons and who is eligible to receive unemployment benefits indirectly paid by the hospital may be appointed to the hospital board of trustees.
3. A former executive employee of a hospital having resigned for medical reasons and who is eligible to receive retirement income from the hospital upon the attainment of proper age may be appointed to the hospital board of trustees. Caution: 25-4-105(2); Section 109. Recusal will not eliminate these violations.
90-112-E A public hospital may not contract with a doctor who is a member of a professional association who employs as his surgical nurse, a member of the hospital's board of trustees. Violation: 25-4-105(3)(a).
89-02-E A county supervisor's appointment of his first cousin to serve as a trustee on the board of the county hospital is not a violation of the conflict of interest laws. Suggest contact the Attorney General regarding Nepotism law.
89-30-E A physician/chief of staff of a regional medical center may serve as an ex officio/non-voting member of the board of trustees of the center, and simultaneously own an interest in a corporation competing with the center in the area of diagnostic testing without violating the conflict of interest laws. Referenced Aseme v. Mississippi Ethics Commission. Cautioned regarding 25-4-105(1) and (5).
89-31-E An administrator of a county hospital may not simultaneously serve as a paid member of an advisory board of a bank depository of the hospital. Violations: 25-4-101; 25-4-105(3)(a).
89-58-E The ownership of 788 shares of cumulative convertible preferred stock, approximately 6/10 of 1% of the total shares of that stock paying $1,576.00 per year in dividends does constitute a "material financial interest" on the part of a hospital trustee/bank depository stockholder. Violations: Section 109; 25-4-105(2). Commission suggests ways in which the violation may be eliminated.
89-66-E A county election commissioner who is a school teacher in the same county also serving on a county hospital board does not as such violate the conflict of interest laws. Cautioned regarding 25-4-101 and 25-4-105(1).
89-83-E A member of the board of trustees of a county hospital may simultaneously serve as mayor of a city which contributes approximately $500 monthly to the county hospital for county-wide ambulance service.
89-116-E A county supervisor may not use his position to obtain his unemancipated child employment with a county owned hospital as to do so violates 25-4-105(1).
89-125-E A county hospital's purchase of a medical clinic of which 1/7 is owned by a member of the hospital's board of trustees violates Section 109 and 25-4-105(1), (2) and (3)(a).
89-160-E A public hospital's contracting with a corporation owned by a holding company when a director and officer of the holding company is the spouse of a department director for the hospital violates 25-4-105(3) should the spouse/employee have a material financial interest in the company and should the exceptions in 25-4-105(4)(d) not apply.
88-15-E The members of a hospital's board of trustees may not participate in the hospital's life and/or dental insurance plan. Violations: Section 109; 25-4-105(2)(f).
88-31-E All employees of a governmental authority are prohibited from having a material financial interest in a company which contracts with that authority. Violations: 25-4-105(2)(a); 25-4-105(1).
88-32-E A member of the board of trustees of a county hospital may not be employed by a company which receives a lease approved by the board until one year after the expiration of the board members term, regardless of whether the board member served the entire term. Violations: Section 109; 25-4-105(2)(f); 25-4-105(1).
88-32-ER A member of the board of trustees of a county hospital may not be employed by a company which receives a lease approved by the board until one year after the expiration of the board member's term, regardless of whether the board member served the entire term. Violations: Section 109; 25-4-105(2)(f); 25-4-105(1).
88-44-E A hospital system board of trustees may contract with a bank of which one of the trustees holds a de minimis interest. Violation of Section 109 may be too minor to attract the attention of the courts.
88-76-E The president of a board of supervisors may not, through his company, contract with a community hospital, jointly funded by the city and county. Violations: Section 109; 25-4-105(2)(f).
88-83-E A hospital system may not contract with a bank when a member of the board of trustees of the hospital system has a financial interest in the bank. Violations: Section 109; 25-4-105(2)(f).
88-94-E A member of a board of trustees for a county hospital may simultaneously be employed by the board of supervisors for the county in which the hospital is located.
88-96-E The spouse of a county supervisor may be employed by the county hospital, provided 25-4-105(1) is not violated.
88-97-E A subcontractor of a county hospital may not simultaneously serve in the hospital's board of trustees. Violations: Section 109; 25-4-1 05(2)(f).
87-36-E A medical staff doctor may simultaneously serve in a limited and restrictive manner on the hospital's board of trustees up and until, but not beyond, the time the Board considers his/her reappointment to the medical staff. Possible violations: Section 109; 25-4-105(2)(f).
87-40-E An employee of a bank contracting with a hospital system may not simultaneously serve on the hospital system's board of trustees. Violations: Section 109; Section 25-4-105(2)(f).
87-43-E A member of the Legislature may sell insurance to a county hospital provided that premiums to be paid under the proposed contract are not contingent upon the hospital's receipt of Medicaid funds. Possible violations: 25-4-105(10 and (4).
87-47-E A chancery clerk for a county may simultaneously serve as a member of the board of trustees of a county hospital.
87-78-E A bank may not be designated as the depository for a community hospital when a member of the board of the community hospital holds a material financial interest in the bank. Violations: 25-4- 105(2)(f); Section 109.
87-97-E The trustees of a public hospital system may not delegate their statutory authority to select depositories to another agency in order to avoid application of the Ethics Laws. (Two of the trustees are bankers.) Violations: Section 109; 25-4- l05(2)(f).