MISSISSIPPI MUST REPAY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN MEDICAID LEGAL SETTLEMENT
JACKSON – Gov. Haley Barbour today said the state will have to repay the federal government $17 million from a recent legal settlement with pharmaceutical companies. Gov. Barbour had warned legislators against counting on the settlement as a windfall for the state budget.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services today demanded the state Medicaid program reimburse CMS the $17 million. The state settled with pharmaceutical companies for $20.041 million but will receive about $3 million from the settlement. Gov. Ronnie Musgrove’s law firm, which represented the state in the lawsuit, was awarded almost $5.5 million in attorneys’ fees approved by Attorney General Jim Hood.
“As I’ve said all along, the federal government was owed its share of the money from this settlement,” Gov. Barbour said. “It was a mistake for the Joint Legislative Budget Committee to count on this money being available for next year as a reserve.”
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Gov. Barbour press release
12/20/11
