NATCHEZ &8212; The House on Wednesday passed an amendment allowing Natchez Regional Medical Center to opt out of participating in the state&8217;s retirement system for future NRMC employees.

Bill co-author Rep. Robert Johnson, D-Natchez, said the bill was being held on a motion to reconsider Wednesday. But barring a reversal of the House&8217;s approval, the measure will likely head to conference committee to iron out details.

&8220;We&8217;ll be working on this bill until we adjourn&8221; this legislative session on April 2, Johnson said.

Unlike a similar measure that failed to pass the Legislature last year, the change would not affect NRMC&8217;s 362 current employees.

The bill would also allow Grenada&8217;s public hospital to opt out of the PERS system.

The Public Employees Retirement System and the Senate Appropriations Committee chairman were against the amendment to Senate Bill 2689, Johnson said.

&8220;But it&8217;s something the hospital has got to do and something its board is asking me to do&8221; to cut costs, he said.

Cutbacks in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements, local plant closings and other factors have had a major impact on hospital income in recent years.

In PERS, the employer pays 10.75 percent to the employee&8217;s 7.25 percent of employee income into the system.

And on Jan. 30, PERS sent a letter to participating agencies saying it would increase the employer contribution to 13 percent by fiscal year 2010.

Natchez Regional already pays about $1.6 million to PERS annually, hospital board attorney Walter Brown said.

The 10 of 48 publicly-owned hospitals that are still in the PERS system and paying 10.75 percent can&8217;t compete with privately-owned hospitals that sometimes contribute much less, Brown said.

The Johnson amendment would help level that playing field while &8220;protecting the employees who are already with us,&8221; Brown said.

While the amendment would mean a savings for the hospital only over time, he added, &8220;at least it&8217;s a beginning.&8221;