A budget shortfall in the state's Medicaid program is easily the biggest insurance issue facing Mississippi.
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Lingering
economic weakness has hurt the Medicaid program in many states and
Mississippi, where the program is growing 20 to 25 percent per year, is
no exception. Although Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove has signed
legislation to erase most of the $158 million deficit in the state's
Medicaid program for the remainder of the 2002 budget year, lawmakers
may still have to hold a special session this summer to address a $157
million Medicaid deficit for fiscal year 2003. In an effort to reduce the program's costs, Musgrove has
signed into law a 5 percent cut in reimbursement to Medicaid providers.
The law reduces pharmacists' dispensing fees from $4.91 to $3.91, but
legislators say they are concerned it won't be enough. Mississippi Rep.
Steve Holland (D-Plantersville) says lawmakers may be forced to change
the state's Medicaid eligibility rules, which could remove more than
23,000 patients from the program. Medicaid is the joint federal-state program that provides health insurance
to 36 million low-income people. Mississippi has 650,000 Medicaid
recipients and the state pays pharmacists the cost of the patients'
drugs plus a flat fee. The problem is that Mississippi, like other
states, is trying to cut its budget due to economic pressures at a time
when health care costs are skyrocketing. Mississippi Medicaid recipients worry that the largest
chain drugstores, such as Rite Aid and Walgreens, may stop serving
them, reduce their pharmacy hours, or close stores if the situation
worsens. Both drugstore chains have reported they are considering the
possibility of cutting participation in Medicaid prescription programs
in Washington state, where Gov. Gary Locke has slashed millions from
his state's Medicaid budget. The impetus for states cutting pharmacists' dispensing
fees comes from a United States Department of Health and Human Services
report warning them that they are overestimating wholesale drug prices
and overpaying pharmacists by more than $1 billion a year. The August
2001 report recommended cutting pharmacy payments by about 10 percent. "There's certainly no love lost between drug companies and
lawmakers right now," says Liz Carroll, spokesperson for the
Mississippi Medical Association. For more information on the Medicaid program, read Understanding Medicaid.
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