Thursday, August 28, 2008

Medicaid and Separation of Powers in Mississippi

By John LaPlante

Categories: Medicaid, Mississippi

In Mississippi, Gov. Haley Barbour continues to tussle with the Legislature over his plan to fund Medicaid by raising taxes on hospitals.

In a court document, one legislator invoked an argument based on the separation of powers:

The circumstance that the legislative process has not yet produced full funding, or that the governor's preference in the method of funding has been frustrated in the Legislature, does not grant the governor constitutional license to bypass the Legislature and impose his tax plan by executive decree

I'm not familiar with the details of the back and forth, but it sounds like a good argument on the surface. Taxing hospitals to pay for Medicaid is one of those games that state officials like to play to enhance their Medicaid match.

It sounds like the governor wants to play that game, too: "Barbour wants to pay for Medicaid by raising hospital taxes, cutting Medicaid reimbursement rates and replacing the cuts with federal money associated with the program."