October 13, 2003

MHA's Monday Executive Briefing
October 13, 2003

IN THIS WEEK'S EDITION:

State News
1. Tuck has funding cushion
2. Haley Barbour files campaign finance report
3. Web changing state politics
4. State treasurer candidates to debate on Gallo Show tomorrow
5. Mississippi Republican Party launches Ronnie Must Go Web site
6. Musgrove to speak at St. Andrew's
7. Attorney General candidates' forum
8. Mississippi extends time for voting, registering for military
9. Healthy Futures hosting a Gubernatorial Candidates Health Care Forum
10. Manufacturers want Blackmon plan
11. Citizens for Campaign Reform hosting gubernatorial debate

National News
12. Extension of the Standardized Amount Takes Effect Nov. 1
13. Lawmakers' new Medicare rules defy Bush
14. New e-newsletter: H&HN Online offers articles and analysis for healthcare leaders
15. House passes pension reform bill
16. Grassley, Baucus introduce bill to help uninsured

- STATE NEWS -

1. Tuck has funding cushion
    Republican Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck has nearly $600,000 in her campaign chest with three weeks left before her Nov. 4 showdown with Democratic challenger Barbara Blackmon.
   Tuck has $598,155 in cash on hand compared with $121,024 for Blackmon, a state senator from Canton, according to campaign finance reports filed Friday at the secretary of state's office.Tuck raised $783,337 for the reporting period July 1 to Sept. 30 compared with $497,487 for Blackmon. This year, Tuck has raised $1.8 million and spent $1.6 million; Blackmon has raised $1.1 million and spent $812,855. Blackmon has given herself $100,000 for the year, including $75,000 in July.

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2. Haley Barbour files campaign finance report

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3. Web changing state politics

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4. State treasurer candidates to debate on Gallo Show tomorrow
   State Treasurer candidates Tate Reeves (R) and Gary Anderson(D) will debate the issues on the Gallo Radio Show tomorrow morning at 7:35a.m. Host Paul Gallo welcomes callers to ask questions on the statewide network during the debate.

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5. Mississippi Republican Party launches Ronnie Must Go Web site
   Gov. Ronnie Musgrove is given the likeness of Jim Carrey's character from the movie "Liar Liar" and Schwarzenegger's main lead in "True Lies" in a new Web site launched by the Republican party, www.ronniemustgo.com .   

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6. Musgrove to speak at St. Andrew's
   Gov. Ronnie Musgrove will be the featured speaker at a special edition of First Wednesday at St. Andrew's Episcopal Cathedral. He will speak Wednesday, October 15, at 12:05 p.m. Lunch, at $6 a plate, will be served immediately after the speech.

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7. Attorney General candidates' forum
   The AARP Mississippi and the Law School Bar Association of the Mississippi College School of Law are sponsoring a candidates' forum in the attorney general's race on Oct. 27.The 7 p.m. forum will be in the Anderson Auditorium in the B. C. Rogers Student Center on the campus of Mississippi College in Clinton. The public is invited and free parking will be available.

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8. Mississippi extends time for voting, registering for military
     Mississippi military personnel called to active duty and serving outside of the state now have more time to register for the Nov. 4 general election. Gov. Ronnie Musgrove and Secretary of State Eric Clark agreed Thursday to extend the voter registration period for members of the Mississippi National Guard and Armed Forces Reserves serving overseas.
   David Blount, a spokesman for Clark's office, said the procedure was placed in state law in 2000 and required Clark to adopt an emergency administrative rule to extend the deadline. Military personnel now have until 14 days before the Nov. 4 election to register. The rule also provides that absentee ballots from the soldiers be counted as long as they are received by 7 p.m. on election day. Under state law, the cutoff date for absentee ballots is the day before the election. There are about 4,700 Mississippi guardsmen and reservists on active duty.

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9. Healthy Futures hosting a Gubernatorial Candidates Health Care Forum
    On October 27, Healthy Futures will host a Gubernatorial Candidates Health Care Forum at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame on Lakeland Drive in Jackson from 10 a.m. till noon. Candidate forums are being held across the state for legislative candidates. A schedule of events can be found at www.healthyfutures.cc.
    Healthy Futures seeks to educate Mississippians on candidate positions regarding health care policy, provide candidates with the opportunity to state their positions on public health issues and create a political climate which emphasizes the benefits of public health programs.
    This fall, the group will sponsor a public opinion survey on health care policy that will be conducted by the Stennis Institute at Mississippi State University. Results will be posted on www.healthyfutures.cc. The members of Healthy Futures are the AARP, the American Heart Association, the Children's Defense Fund, the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program and the John C. Stennis Institute of Government.

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10. Manufacturers want Blackmon plan
    The Mississippi Association of Manufacturers was joined by two other pro-business groups Tuesday in criticizing State Senator Barbara Blackmon.Jay Moon, president of the MMA was joined by Ron Aldridge, State Director for the National Federation of Independent Business, and Steve Browning, Executive Director of the Mississippians for Economic Progress, questioned Blackmon's ability to bring new jobs to Mississippi. They all called upon her to reveal her jobs plan she talks about in political ads. 
    Aldridge said Blackmon had only a 36% voting record in her last term on issues affecting small businesses. Browning said Blackmon needs to be asked, "how she can actively recruit industry to come to Mississippi when she is a managing partner in a personal injury law firm that sues the very industry she will be recruiting." Blackmon was on the campaign trail and unavailable for an on camera response. Her office said she would put out a statement later.

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11. Citizens for Campaign Reform hosting gubernatorial debate
    Citizens for Campaign Reform is hosting a gubernatorial debate at 7 p.m. Oct. 23 at Central Independent Baptist Church on Old Brandon Road off U.S. 80 behind Larry's Auto Sales in Pearl. All gubernatorial candidates were invited, but Democratic incumbent Ronnie Musgrove and Republican Haley Barbour have declined. Others invited include John Thomas Cripps of the Constitution party, Reform party candidate Shawn O'Hara and Sherman Lee Dillon of the Green party.

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- NATIONAL NEWS -

12. Extension of the Standardized Amount Takes Effect Nov. 1
    The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Oct. 8 laid out plans to implement the six-month extension of the increased Medicare inpatient prospective payment system (PPS) base payment rate for hospitals in rural and "other urban" areas, passed Sept. 30 by Congress. The original extension, passed in February, expired at midnight, Sept. 30, the end of the federal fiscal year. The current six-month extension should have taken effect on Oct. 1. But, because of computer system requirements and reprogramming, CMS said it was unable to meet that deadline. Beginning Nov. 1, eligible hospitals will see a slightly higher pro-rated increase through March 31 to account for the one month delay. This six-month extension, in effect until March 31, not only protects payments for rural and "other urban" hospitals, but also allows time for our efforts to convince Medicare prescription drug bill conferees to permanently fix this inequity - among other issues - in their final bill.

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13. Lawmakers' New Medicare Rules Defy Bush

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14. New e-newsletter: H&HN Online offers articles and analysis for healthcare leaders
   H&HN Online, a new weekly e-newsletter from the editors of Hospitals & Health Networks, hits the Internet in November with exclusive articles, analyses and columns that will inform, inspire and challenge senior health care executives. The roster of respected contributors includes such well-known writers as Joe Flower, Emily Friedman and David Weber. H&HN Online goes live Nov. 4 and will feature two articles per issue, delivered in a concise, easy-to-read format designed to accommodate executives' busy schedules.Click here for more information or to register for a free online subscription.

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15.House passes pension reform bill
    The U.S. House Tuesday passed the Pension Funding Equity Act, legislation that provides a short-term replacement for the problematic 30-year Treasury bond interest rate used by hospitals and other employers to calculate pension fund contributions. The bill, sponsored by Rep. John Boehner, R-OH, would provide a two-year fix while committing Congress to identify a long-term solution. The Senate has yet to consider its version of pension reform, the National Employee Savings and Trust Equity Guarantee Act, sponsored by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-IA, and recently passed by his Finance Committee. That bill would replace the 30-year Treasury bond rate with a composite corporate rate for two years and then a yield curve formula proposed by the administration.

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16. Grassley, Baucus introduce bill to help uninsured
    Responding to a reported increase in the number of uninsured Americans, Sens. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Max Baucus (D-Mont.) have introduced legislation that would give tax credits for health insurance to people on unemployment. The tax credits, receivable in advance, would cover 65% of monthly premiums. The proposal, projected to cost $31.6 billion over 10 years, would help an estimated 1.4 million people per month in 2004 and 1.2 million people per month in 2005, according to its sponsors. The bill, introduced last Wednesday, is in the Senate Finance Committee. However, the committee may not take up the bill until next year because of the current Medicare debate, officials said.

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