JACKSON - A federal judge on Monday ordered Medicaid officials to work on a plan to restore benefits to thousands of people cut from the program.
But Medicaid executive director Dr. Warren Jones said the long-term effect of indefinitely restoring the benefits could "put everybody in jeopardy."
U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate had issued a temporary restraining order Friday blocking changes to eliminate the Poverty Level Aged and Disabled category from Medicaid.
Medicaid's policy requires that the PLADs continue to receive benefits at least until the end of the month, Jones said.
Jones said extending the benefits indefinitely could prove costly to the state.
"Where are we going to find the state dollars to pull down a match?" Jones said.
During a hearing Monday, an expert witness for Medicaid presented three proposals to restore the computer data needed to keep PLADs on Medicaid rolls. Wingate ordered Medicaid to implement the proposal that posed the least risk of affecting the benefits of the 768,000 people on Medicaid.
The proposal would update Medicaid rolls by Oct. 15, said Craig Jackson, an account executive with Affiliate Computer Services, which acts as Medicaid's fiscal officer.
Wingate will issue an opinion in the coming days. He continued the hearing until Oct. 14.
It's possible he could decide whether to issue a preliminary injunction to keep PLADs on Medicaid for a longer period.
Wingate said he'll also rule on Attorney General Jim Hood's motion to intervene in the lawsuit that was filed on behalf of a group Medicaid beneficiaries.
Earlier this year, Gov. Haley Barbour said eliminating the PLAD category would save the state millions of dollars in the program that also is funded with federal money. Lawmakers approved the change.
The change affects 50,884 people, but Medicaid officials said most would be eligible for Medicare, which is funded entirely with federal dollars.
Some 17,000 PLADs, who were not eligible for Medicare or need anti-psychotic or other life sustaining drugs, will continue to receive Medicaid through a federal waiver.
Medicare provides a $600 discount drug card, but plaintiffs' attorney David Miller, said his clients' prescriptions exceed that amount in one month.
Hood said it's important that providers know that they will be reimbursed for services they render to the PLADs.
Jones said Medicaid had posted the judge's order on its Web page and had also e-mailed information to providers, but some beneficiaries prescription claims were being denied on Monday. Wingate ordered Medicaid to send letters to beneficiaries, explaining that they still had coverage. After the hearing, Hood said the notices Medicaid sent out to the PLADs this summer didn't provide enough information about an appeal process. PLADs would still be eligible for coverage if they chose to appeal the change, he said.
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