Mississippi Medicaid: No quick end to drug, physician caps

JACKON, Miss. (AP) – Mississippi’s Medicaid agency says it won’t immediately lift caps on the number of times of a patient can visit a doctor, or the number of drug prescriptions a patient can receive.

The announcement comes despite assurances made to lawmakers during this year’s legislative session that such limits would end.

Some proposals would have lifted the caps by law on July 1, but legislators settled on a final version that lets the agency to decide.

Medicaid Director Drew Snyder tells the Clarion Ledger that the agency is still studying if it can make changes that won’t cause budget overruns.

Senate Medicaid Committee Chairman Brice Wiggins, a Pascagoula Republican, says lawmakers intended that the caps be lifted. He says studies show limiting physician visits hasn’t saved money.

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Information from: The Clarion Ledger, http://www.clarionledger.com

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