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BOBBY HARRISON:Medicaid politics defy easy resolution 

Here's the legislative summary of the issue:

- During the 2008 regular session, the House passed and sent to the Senate a proposal to increase the cigarette tax to deal with the deficit. Senate Public Health Chairman Hob Bryan, D-Amory, killed the House bill by refusing to consider it in his committee

Bryan says he still supports raising the cigarette tax, but it would be useless to consider the issue because a two-thirds majority could not be garnered to override a certain Barbour veto.

- Barbour, a former national tobacco lobbyist, has blocked all efforts to raise Mississippi's 18-cent-per-pack cigarette tax, which is the third-lowest in the nation and $1 below the national average.

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House Speaker McCoy known for standing firm against attacks 

Now locked in a Medicaid funding fight with Republican Gov. Haley Barbour and Senate leaders, McCoy has so far refused to budge on his preference for a combination of hospital and tobacco tax increases to pay for the health care program that serves almost 600,000 Mississippians.

McCoy, who grew up farming in rural northeast Mississippi, "gets attacked because he is stubborn and steadfast in what he believes," said Marty Wiseman, director of the Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University. . . .

"There's some things Billy's not going to give on, and I think (a cigarette tax) is one of them," said state Rep. Jeff Smith, the Democrat from Columbus who almost toppled McCoy. Smith said he'll probably challenge him again. . . .

"It would be reprehensible if there were people in the House who were holding Medicaid beneficiaries and providers hostage and would cause them hundreds of millions of dollars worth of harm for their political purposes," said Barbour, who is threatening to cut Medicaid by $375 million if the hospital tax isn't passed.

McCoy said, "He would tax somebody in the bed; we would tax cigarettes. Sometimes I wonder if we're representing the same body of people in the state."

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Legal moves ongoing in drug, cigarette cases against Yeminis 

With less than a week before trial, Adeeb Naji Amer is asking Senior Judge Glen Davidson to exclude certain information from the jury set to consider the fate of him and four other men.

Amer, also known as "Ed," is one of four men of Yemeni nationality scheduled for trial July 21, accused in a 39-count federal indictment that they sold drugs used in making crystal meth and trafficked in black-market cigarettes.

Eleven people, most living in Columbus, were arrested in connection with the August 2006 indictment, which was unsealed Jan. 11, 2007. . . .

The alleged acts reportedly occurred in Columbus at Key Station, a convenience store owned and operated by Hamza Ahmed, at Friendly Market, owned by operated by Saleh Rashed, and at Military Quick Stop, operated by Ahmed Qasen.

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Group mulls legal challenge 

The Mississippi Hospital Association says it may ask the courts to block Gov. Haley Barbour's plan to cut $375 million from the Medicaid program because the deep cuts could force some hospitals to close.

Under Barbour's plan, which takes effect Aug. 6, Medicaid-reimbursement rates for hospitals would be reduced by 33.5 percent. Michael Bailey, MHA's chief financial officer, said the reduction could lead to thousands of hospital layoffs and cuts to patient services.

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EDITORIAL: Lawmakers need to cut the shenanigans 

Barbour vows he won’t budge; instead he has proposed a list of $375 million in cuts he plans.

So it’s a battle of cigarette taxes vs. hospital taxes.

Here’s a novel plan: do both.

If Mississippi really wants to jump ahead, let’s do both and use the “excess” money that’s created to promote healthier living programs or put in a rainy day fund for next year’s Medicaid funding battle.

Or, better yet, let’s get really crazy. If we’re really concerned about the health of residents, we need to tax the heck out of all things that are bad for citizens.

We could call it the Mississippi Morals and Health Act of 2008.

In addition to cigarette taxes, we should also tax the stew out of any alcoholic beverages sold within 30 miles of the Capitol — only levied, however, when the Legislature is in session. Scaring elderly and poor folks by making them think their healthcare may be in jeopardy?

Why that’ll be a felony under the new law.

Come on lawmakers. We pay you to represent us, not to entertain us with squabbling.

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EDITORIAL:Call his hand 

The only reason a cigarette tax increase has not become law in Mississippi has been the staunch opposition of Gov. Haley Barbour, whose veto threat thwarted all previous efforts.

But here's the good news for supporters of a cigarette tax increase: The governor's opposition is evaporating. Public opinion is so solid on the issue, and the rationale for opposing a cigarette tax increase so flimsy, it has become a virtual certainty that tobacco taxes will be raised in Mississippi. . . .

The cigarette tax proponents have won the war. Now all that remains is the last mop-up battle. That fact has been lost in all the controversy over Medicaid, and it needs illumination.

Shine the light - and end the stalemate.

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Lawmakers hope for compromise to avoid Medicaid cutbacks 

The governor's plan may not be having the desired effect on local legislators, however. Instead of being frightened into support for SB 2013, they now appear to be more open to a hybrid bill containing a mixture of hospital assessments and increased tobacco taxes than ever before.

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Medicaid: Politics, not policy, at issue issue 

At the same time, it is equally disingenuous for Gov. Barbour to rail against the Legislature for failing to solve the Medicaid shortfall while throwing all his considerable political weight around to stop lawmakers from raising the state's cigarette tax as part of a solution for Medicaid or other fiscal woes.

Barbour has protected the tobacco industry from higher taxes like a mama bear protects her cubs. Of late, the governor is making noise about "not opposing" a cigarette tax hike in 2009 but wants to tie it to cuts in income taxes.

Predictably, House members are angry over first being kept from using a cigarette tax as a tool in the toolbox to solve the Medicaid problem and angrier still at being told that a cigarette tax hike must somehow be swapped for a likely income tax cut - even at a time when the state is $17 million behind and counting on their revenue estimates in the midst of an uncertain economy.

The partisan political enmity between Barbour and House Democrats has reached a boiling point. While we understand the forces on both sides that brought the heat, it's clear that the people who are about to get burned are the blind, the elderly, the disabled, children and others among the one-in-four Mississippians who depend on Medicaid for their health care.

Cutting Medicaid in a state as poor as Mississippi is morally wrong - and will wreak economic havoc during a recession.

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Barbour: Cuts in 23 days. Is Medicaid going under the knife? 

Unless either House Democrats or Republican Gov. Haley Barbour retreat from current positions over the next three weeks, Mississippi Medicaid recipients could begin feeling massive budget cuts as soon as Aug. 4. . . .

But state Rep. George Flaggs, D-Vicksburg, said that Democratic lawmakers tell him that the House has compromised as well, but that the sticking point for the House leadership is Barbour's refusal to consider a cigarette tax as part of an overall Medicaid funding solution. . . .

Asked about House criticism of his refusal to expand the special session call to include the state's cigarette tax, Barbour said: "No cigarette tax made it to my desk from the 2008 regular session and I'm not going to tweak the special session call to give the hospitals a $90 million tax cut."

"What the members are saying is that Gov. Barbour needs to put the cigarette tax in the special session call or the House can't compromise to any further degree," said Flaggs. "I think that's simply a result of knowing that we're already $17 million behind on the state's revenue estimate."

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HAMPTON: Politics of Medicaid dangerous territory 

And, definitely, House Democrats are correct that the cigarette tax should be increased. It is the third lowest in the nation and smoking adds to the Medicaid costs.

But the policy and the politics are two different things. Barbour doesn't have a policy problem when it comes to funding Medicaid; he has a political problem. Barbour losing

For once, the governor is losing on the politics, something he is not accustomed to doing.

Voters overwhelmingly support a tobacco tax increase. Voters don't understand the complicated funding proposals. All they hear is hospital tax and think they will end up paying it. (They probably wouldn't or shouldn't but they think that.) Now they are hearing Medicaid cuts, and they worry about Aunt Bessie getting kicked out of the nursing home. Barbour loses on every political point. Meanwhile, all House Democrats have to do is nothing to keep Barbour in the snake pit. . . .

Barbour clearly has been shaken by this situation. His normal constituencies are divided while House Democrats are standing firm. His hallmark political pragmatism has not been evident.

I personally believe a compromise lies in allowing a vote on the cigarette tax, whether it is used for Medicaid or not.

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LETTER: Medicaid cuts are Barbour's decision  

In the long road to Medicaid cuts, Gov. Barbour has had countless opportunities to take a detour. During the regular session, the House of Representatives passed a cigarette tax increase that would have more than funded the current deficit. During the special session, the House offered to meet the governor half way and fund Medicaid partially through a cigarette tax increase and partially through the governor's hospital tax increase. . . .

During this time of economic uncertainty, it is not fiscally responsible to increase the burden on Mississippi's healthcare providers or the sick people who rely on their services. It would be even less prudent to carve up the healthcare program that serves our most vulnerable citizens.

Make no mistake, if the governor makes good on his promise to cut Medicaid, it will be his decision and his decision alone. Unfortunately, we will all have to pay for it.

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Miss. Medicaid cuts could take effect in August 

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour says he will file papers Friday to start a nearly monthlong process of cutting millions of dollars from the Medicaid program. . . .

Mississippi Democratic Party chairman Wayne Dowdy said Barbour's plan to cut Medicaid is unnecessary. Dowdy pointed to Barbour's record as a former tobacco lobbyist.

"Gov. Barbour is simply protecting his big tobacco friends by refusing to solve the Medicaid funding problems with an increase in one of the lowest cigarette taxes in the nation," Dowdy said in a news release. "That's wrong. And it's flat-out offensive."

Barbour has said repeatedly that he's not trying to protect tobacco companies.

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Barbour: Not best time for tax cutting  

Gov. Haley Barbour said Friday that tough economic times could make it hard to implement any tax cuts recommended by his study commission.

Barbour also said the state's cigarette tax might be increased in either a special session later this year or during the 2009 regular session, without any corresponding reduction in other taxes or without designating the increased revenue from the cigarette tax to a specific purpose.

The remarks came during a editorial board meeting with the Daily Journal on Friday.

During the meeting and at a later airport press conference, Barbour reiterated that he would begin the process of cutting the state's Medicaid program. . . .

Barbour, who has blocked an increase in the cigarette tax in recent years, reiterated he would not oppose the anticipated recommended hike in the tax by the study commission he formed earlier this year, which is scheduled to make its recommendations in August.

Evolving position

Barbour's position on the cigarette tax is evolving. For several years, he opposed any hike, but said last year he might support an increase as part of a package of tax cuts in other areas.

But during his meeting with the Daily Journal, he said, "Get ready for a tough budget year. . . .

"I would rather if the Legislature chose to raise the cigarette tax to see it go in the general fund," Barbour said.

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• Miss. governor files plan to cut Medicaid 

It's a tried-and-true technique in government: If you've got bad news, release it late Friday afternoon and then leave for the weekend.

Moments before the Mississippi secretary of state's office closed for the weekend, Gov. Haley Barbour filed an 83-page plan to start the process of making cuts in Medicaid, a government health program for the needy. . . . House Democratic leaders say they want to consider an increase in cigarette taxes.

House Medicaid Committee Chairman Dirk Dedeaux, D-Perkinston, criticized Barbour for making cuts now rather than allowing lawmakers to do more work on the budget later. He pointed to Barbour's background as a tobacco lobbyist.

"Gov. Haley Barbour would rather cut $375 million out of Medicaid than see one cent in new taxes on cigarettes to be devoted to the program," Dedeaux said Friday. "His attempt to tax hospitals instead of cigarettes to pay for Medicaid services is a clear indication of his priorities in health care policy." . . .

Barbour has said repeatedly that his record as a lobbyist has nothing to do with his opposition to increasing cigarette taxes. He said a group that he appointed to study the state tax structure will release a report late this summer, and he expects the group to recommend increasing Mississippi's cigarette excise tax. At 18 cents a pack, it is one of the lowest tobacco taxes in the nation.

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Barbour plans Medicaid cuts after losing lawsuit  

Gov. Haley Barbour, on the losing side of a lawsuit over his ability to tax hospitals, said he will start the process of making cuts to Medicaid providers today.

Hinds County Chancery Judge William H. Singletary ruled Thursday the governor could not increase the assessment on hospitals without legislative approval. . .

The House leadership has proposed a cigarette tax increase to fund the deficit.

On Thursday, Barbour said the Medicaid cuts could be blamed on the House leaders for not passing the hospital patient tax.

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