Another Medicaid deadline has come and gone and another coolingoff period has been implemented to allow legislators time toresolve to the state’s funding problem.

With so many numbers being thrown around, fingers pointed andpolitical threats being unleashed it has become a mismatch ofconfusion and ill tempers. To sum it up in a few sentences, thebottom line is that between 20 and 25 percent of our state’scitizens depend on the state operated but Federally funded Medicaidprogram. Mississippi fortunately or unfortunately, depending on howyou look at it, is a major benefactor of the program with theFederal government matching every dollar we put in with $6.

The state’s responsibility is to manage the program and generatethe necessary matching funds that come from a complicated formulaof provider fees, taxpayer funds and other financial smoke andmirrors. The state has never properly funded the program and it hasbeen a political football for 20-plus years.

At the heart of the current crisis is a $90 million per yearshortfall that the state has been covering for the past three yearswith one-time funds such as Hurricane Katrina relief funds andKatrina related windfall sales tax receipts. The bottom line isthat the Mississippi Legislature is continuing to sidestep thefunding shortage and Barbour thinks it has come to properly fix theissue.

In a politically charged year of presidential politics partypolitics is being played hot and heavy by Republicans and Democratsalike. As usual the people of the state are the pawns.

Speaking to the Mississippi Press Association last week anobviously flustered Gov. Haley Barbour made his case to the state’sweekly and daily newspaper editors and publishers. He relayed hisreasoning behind how his plan allows for stable funding of theprogram for the future as opposed to the financial uncertainty atobacco tax brings. He did admit that the time had come to considerraising tobacco taxes and he would not be opposed to such effortsin 2009 – except for Medicaid.

But while he was speaking on the coast, northward towards Jacksonpolitical winds were changing as the pressure was building. OnThursday the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program began runningnewspaper ads in selected areas putting pressure on RepublicanHouse members. A threat to announce Medicaid budget cuts did notmaterialize and Barbour called for a cooling off period until Aug.4.

Why is Barbour now acknowledging his lack of opposition to atobacco tax in the future but just not for Medicaid? Because asBarbour told the MPA, raising the tobacco tax has been cited 19different times by the Legislature in the past four years but neverfor Medicaid. Now all of a sudden they want to raise this in orderto lower the hospital tax. “This (effort) is just political,” hesaid.

To add more pressure, state leaders learned Friday that the state’srevenue projections are short by some $17 million – a reflection ofthe poor state of the state and national economy. The revenueshortage will further limit options for the Medicaid shortfall.

The easy answer to all of this is to do what the state has done foryears – to simply pass the buck. For the governor’s credit he iswilling to stand up to the criticism and force the Legislature notto take the easy way out. Had someone done that years ago we mightnot be in the mess we find ourselves today.

Write to Bill Jacobs at P.O. Box 551, Brookhaven MS 39602, or sende-mail to bjacobs@dailyleader.com.