House, Senate divided over Medicaid funding

The Commercial Dispatch, 4/5/8

The Mississippi House and Senate are divided on how to keep the state Medicaid program from running out of money, but lawmakers will be struggling this week to keep that from happening.

The state’s $4 billion Medicaid program is projected to go bust by April 20 — prompting doomsday scenarios of what’ll happen if legislators can’t reach an accord.

“The health-care system will shut down in the state of Mississippi,” said House Public Health and Human Services Chairman Steve Holland, D-Plantersville.

However, Senate Appropriations Chairman Alan Nunnelee, R-Tupelo, said the House and Senate have a funding solution in the works to fix Medicaid’s $100 million deficit.