Proposed Stimulus Impact

Governor Haley Barbour is expected to make another round of budget cuts next week because of a shortfall in state tax collections. But as MPB's Lawayne Childrey reports, Mississippi's share of a planned federal stimulus package could help lessen the blow.

The state’s Medicaid program is facing a 90 million dollar deficit. And according Senator to Terry Burton of the Senate Health and Public Services Appropriations Committees, unless something is done to fix it things will continue to get worse.

“And as more people lose their jobs and go on the Medicaid rolls with their children and so forth, the Medicaid and s-chip program will increase”.

Even in the midst of economic gloom and fresh cutbacks, Mississippi Institution of Higher Learning, Economist Dr. Marianne Hill sees a light at the end of the tunnel. She believes the 6.6 billion dollars the state could receive from the federally proposed stimulus plan would be beneficial in a number of ways.

“This package then, is gonna be very useful in preventing any shortfall of funds in the deficit. And maybe it should have the impact of keeping any cuts that are made at a more manageable level, so that we can maintain current level of services in vital areas such as education and health care”.

But the proof is in the pudding for Burton.

“I’m kinda like Yogi Berra once said I don’t make predictions especially about the future. And we’re looking at what they’re gonna do we don’t know what they are gonna do we don’t know when they will do it. So as our deliberations start and get underway we can’t take anything into consideration that might happen we have to deal with what we have in front of us. And so as we try to fund the Medicaid budget we’ll look at ways that we can do that. Use the funds that are in our disposal now and any changes that might come down in the future we’ll make changes at that time”.

If the governor’s proposed cutbacks become reality and no addition funding is found it could mean big trouble for the department. Francis Rullan, Communications Director for the Division of Medicaid says in that event his office will have to ask legislators to make drastic cuts to the already ailing program.

“That’s certainly something we don’t want to do. But once again, we have to look out for the greater good of all Medicaid beneficiary. And it’s only a finite pool of dollars. And once again if the demand on that finite pool of dollars is intensified then we have to find a way to spread what is left evenly to all the beneficiaries that can qualify”.

Advocates say, thousands of beneficiaries could be impacted by a reduction or elimination of services.
Medicaid was spared during the governor’s first round of budget cuts back in November. That's when agencies were asked to trim their budgets by 2%. For MPB News, I'm Lawayne Childrey.