Tobacco.org

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."

Jump to full article »