Gov. Haley Barbour said today his latest plan to raise hospital taxes and cut Medicaid services will not be necessary since another way has been found to balance the health care program’s budget.
Barbour said an accounting error made five years ago resulted in the state paying more money than it should have for Medicaid. He said the discrepancy was discovered in May while the program’s staffers prepared its budget. Barbour said the federal government is reimbursing the state enough money to balance Medicaid’s budget for the 2009 fiscal year.
It’s the second time since July that Barbour has withdrawn separate plans to cut Medicaid, the health care program that serves almost 600,000 Mississippians. As of today, his latest plan had not received final approval from the federal government. It would have replaced the cuts with federal money associated with the program.
