District Judge Issues Temporary Restraining Order To Prevent Mississippi Medicaid Benefit Cuts

U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate on Friday issued a temporary restraining order to restore coverage to several thousand Mississippi Medicaid beneficiaries who had lost benefits Friday, the AP/Memphis Commercial Appeal reports. The order comes in response to a lawsuit filed by health advocates who sued last week to prevent the cuts. John Arledge, deputy chief of staff for Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R), said a letter cleared by Attorney General Jim Hood's (D) office prompted the lawsuit and the restraining order, adding, "This has set up a great deal of chaos for Mississippi's Medicaid recipients, and unfortunately, it's all because of an attorney general's error in a notification letter." Hood on Friday filed papers siding with health advocates and appeared in court (Wagster, AP/Memphis Commercial Appeal, 10/2).

Cuts
Under a plan proposed by Barbour and passed by the state Legislature, 65,000 Mississippi Medicaid beneficiaries are scheduled to be dropped from Medicaid to slow rising costs (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 9/29). The plan will save the state an estimated $31 million, according to the Jackson Clarion-Ledger (Fuquay, Jackson Clarion-Ledger, 9/30). Barbour delayed the cuts until Oct. 1 and received federal permission to maintain coverage for 17,000 beneficiaries who were to be cut from the program, including people who need kidney dialysis, chemotherapy, anti-psychotic drugs or medication to prevent organ rejection following a transplant (AP/Columbia State, 9/30). Many of the beneficiaries scheduled to lose coverage have low incomes, are elderly or have disabilities and are eligible for Medicare as well. However, some of those who will lose coverage are not immediately eligible for Medicare (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 9/29).

Hood's Position
Hood said that he is siding with the Mississippi Center for Justice, AARP Foundation Litigation Legal Review Program, the National Senior Citizens Law Center and the National Health Law Program and will not represent the governor or the Medicaid program. He said he "can't just stand by with people's lives at risk while the system tries to resolve this legal point" (Wagster Pettus, AP/Columbia State, 9/30). Barbour must hire private attorneys to defend the state in the case. According to patient advocates, the state did not give beneficiaries proper notice of changes to their benefits. Hood also said the state has failed to comply with federal regulations that stipulate the state must help beneficiaries find alternative programs, noting, "The letters (Medicaid) sent out didn't even tell what those programs were, much less do the other duty of obtaining information from those people that would help them fit into those programs" (Jackson Clarion-Ledger, 9/30). Arledge, the governor's deputy chief of staff, said the allegation is false and that Hood has "decided to play politics" (AP/Columbia State, 9/30). Arledge added, "Everyone has known about this reform for four months, including the attorney general's attorneys ... who helped implement the reform" (Jackson Clarion-Ledger, 9/30).