5 Questions with Senator Alan Nunnelee

Alan Nunnelee has represented portions of Lee County in the State Senate since 1995, when he was elected to succeed Roger Wicker after Wicker was elected to the U.S. Congress. Nunnelee has served as chairman of the powerful Senate Finance committee and currently serves as chairman of the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee. His family has lived in the Pontotoc and Lee County area since 1848.

1. Would you consider running for higher office?

I would consider running for a higher office if three conditions exist. If - I feel that I can make a meaningful contribution to that office, It is right for my family, The political environment is right.

2. How is the legislature going to solve the budget crisis?

We must focus our prioroities. Just as difficult times force families and small businesses to reprioritize, these tough budget times will force us to do the same. Too often, governments spend our energy asking "How can we do something better? when we should be asking "Should we be doing it at all?"

3. What is the single most important issue going to be for you in this upcoming legislative session?

There are two issues that are tied together - Medicaid and the budget. Because we are commiting so much money to Medicaid, our resources are limited in other important areas. As we solve the Medicaid problem, our budget problem is solved as well.

4. Medicaid is running huge deficits and growing exponentially. What can be done to get it under control?

There are three elements to any health plan - WHO is covered, WHAT is covered and HOW MUCH it cost. The sponsor of that plan can pick any two. Unfortunately, over the past decade we have focused on the WHO and WHAT and have neglected the HOW MUCH. We need to decide HOW MUCH we can reasonably spend on a Medicaid plan and design a plan to fit our pocketbook. These are the same tough decisions that must be made in the private sector.

5. How did Medicaid get into its current situation?

Under the previous administration, Medicaid used a plan of presumptive eligibility. That means that any applicant is presumed to be eligible. In addition, with over 750,000 people on the Medicaid, but we were only reviewing the eligibility of 10,000 people a month. That means, a person could be on Medicaid for over six years without having their eligibility status reviewed. Under the Medicaid Reform Act of 2004, we will review each persons eligibility once a year.

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