Tropical Storm Nate: Attorney General Warns Against Price Gouging

JACKSON, MS — Mindful of the tragedy in Florida where nine nursing home patients died after Hurricane Irma knocked out power, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood announced his office sent investigators to nursing homes and make sure that there is not a repeat of the tragedy in his state. He also said that his office is making sure that there's no price gouging.

Hood said that he sent investigators from his office's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit to investigate nursing and licensed care homes in the southeastern part of the state to make sure they have an evacuation plan, as well as sufficient water, fuel and generators.

Investigators went to homes in Pike, Walthall, Marion, Lamar, Forrest, Perry, Greene, Pearl River, Stone, George, Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson counties. (Sign up for newsletters and real-time news alerts from Jackson Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

They also reached out to counties to the north – Adams, Amite, Wilkinson, Franklin, Lincoln, Lawrence, Jefferson Davis, Covington, Jones, Wayne, Claiborne, Copiah, Simpson, Smith, Jasper, Clarke, and Greene counties – to make sure they are prepared.

"We must care for our seniors, especially during a disaster," said Hood. "Our staff follows the same protocol with every storm as outlined in our office’s Emergency Response Guide, and we will do all we can to be sure that our facilities here are prepared to continue giving quality care to residents in the event of a storm and follow state regulations."

He added that investigators from the Consumer Protection Division of the attorney general's office checked the prices of emergency supplies such as water and generators in the regions expected to be hit hardest, as well as gas prices across the state on Friday to make sure there was no price gouging.

"Increased prices do not always equal price gouging," said Hood. "Consumers should be aware that a state of emergency declaration does not necessarily give law enforcement the means to enforce and investigate reports of price gouging."

Hood said that the state of emergency declaration signed by the governor on Friday did not include the specific language needed to invoke the state's price-gouging statute.

"However," he said, "we encourage consumers to report suspicious prices so that we will be able to monitor the situation to decide whether to recommend that the statute be triggered."

Anyone who suspects price gouging should use their camera phone to capture the price and other evidence and immediately send it to the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division by emailing aginfo@ago.state.ms.us.

For consumers who have complaints or concerns, the Attorney General’s Consumer Hotline will be manned 24 hours a day starting Friday at 5 p.m. through Tuesday. The hotline number is (800) 281-4418. More storm preparation information, including an emergency supply checklist and a model contract to avoid home repair fraud, is available online at www.agjimhood.com.

File photo of Jim Hood courtesy of the Mississippi Attorney General's office.