- State News -

1. Barbour names attorneys
   Gov. Haley Barbour has hired two Jacksonlawyers — Joe Nosef and Paul Hurst — to serve as his lead staff attorneys. Nosef, a business and tax attorney, ran unsuccessfully last year against state Rep. Bill Denny, R-Jackson, in the primary. Nosef was named chief counsel. Hurstwas an attorney with Butler, Snow, O'Mara, Stevens and Cannada. Neely Carlton, a Democrat, and former state senator, was hired on as a legislative liaison, but also will be serving Barbour in a legal capacity.

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2. Hinds District 29 candidates to go extra mile
   Democrat Dewayne Thomas said Thursday he will go forward with his candidacy for the Hinds County District 29 Senate seat. Thomas was certified the winner over Republican incumbent Richard White in the Nov. 4 election. But White appealed to the state Senate after discovering voting irregularities, and the Senate voted 35-13 to hold another election on Feb. 10.
   After the Senate vote Tuesday, Thomas said he was emotionally and financially drained and was considering pulling out of the contest. Thomas’ youngest son, Ryan, died in an automobile accident in September and he has used nearly $100,000 of his own money in the race and is relying on credit from his bank. In the Nov. 4 election, Thomas received 8,926 votes to White’s 8,791. The controversy has primarily centered on 535 paper ballots that were not initialed, as required. Of those votes, 66 were for White and 487 for Thomas.

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3. LaRouche addresses black lawmakers
   Perennial presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche told Mississippi’s black lawmakers that they are “an integral part of the struggle for the presidency.” LaRouche, a Democratic presidential candidate, on Wednesday spoke to the Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus during a two-day visit to Mississippi.
   This is LaRouche’s eighth try at the White House. The 81-year-old economist first ran for president in 1976. He has tried again every election since then, including a 1992 campaign from prison while serving five years of a 15-year sentence for mail fraud and defaulting on more than $30 million in loans from campaign supporters.

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4. Gov. taps Jones as Medicaid Chief
   Gov. Haley Barbour has appointed a Jacksonfamily physician and past President of the American Academy of Family Physicians, Dr. Warren A. Jones, to be the Director of Medicaid. "Dr. Jones is exactly the type of person we need running Mississippi's Medicaid program," said Governor Barbour. "He is well-known and respected throughout the medical community. He has proven himself a capable and effective manager during his tenure as the Medical Director of the TRICARE Military Health Program, the military's 10-million member health insurance program.”
   Jones currently serves as Associate Vice Chancellor for Multicultural Affairs and Clinical Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and Assistant Clinical Professor of Family Medicine at Howard University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C.
   Dr. Jones earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from the Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana, and completed residency training at the NavalHospitalin Pensacola, Florida. He has extensive military experience, including serving as special assistant to the U.S. Surgeon General for Physical Qualifications and Review at the Department of the Navy in Washington, D.C., and as director of undergraduate medical education and residency training in the Department of Family Practice at the Naval Hospital in Pensacola, Florida. Dr. Jones is past Chair of the National Advisory Council to Rewarding Results, an advisory panel to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the California Health Foundation.

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5. Barbour to give State of Stateaddress tonight
   Governor Haley Barbour will give his State of the State address tonight at six o'clock. It's the first time in memory for a Mississippigovernor to give the annual speech at night rather than during the day. Barbour will speak to a joint session of the Mississippi House and Senate in the Capitol's House chamber. The speech will be aired live on the TV and radio stations of Mississippi Public Broadcasting. Barbour has said he will offer specific policy proposals in the State of the State.

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6. Tuck now says she backs open appropriations conferences
   Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck said Wednesday she supports open conference committees for appropriations bills. House Speaker Billy McCoy had said weeks ago that he supports such openness. Conference committees in Mississippiconsist of three House members and three senators who negotiate final versions of bills.
   Conferences were closed for decades in Mississippi. Those for general bills have been open in the state since 2001, but appropriations conferences had remained closed because some lawmakers thought opening them would complicate their work and slow down the legislative process. A news release from Tuck's office said a resolution on opening all conferences will be presented soon to the full House and Senate.

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7. Senators look for Pickering replacement
   While newly appointed federal appeals court Judge Charles Pickering heard his first cases on Thursday, the political powers were busy trying to find a replacement to fill his previous post. Senators Trent Lott and Thad Cochran met Wednesday and discussed Pickering's replacement as a federal district judge in Hattiesburg. Lott says he and Cochran are compiling a list of possible replacements. That list will be reviewed by the White House and submitted to President Bush, who will appoint the new judge. Lott says he expects the selection process to be underway by early February.

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8. Barbour goes with nominating committee for judiciary
   Since 1980, Mississippi governors have been of two minds on filling vacancies in the judiciary. Govs. Kirk Fordice and Ronnie Musgrove chose to rely on their own counsel. Three predecessors - William Winter, Bill Allain and Ray Mabus - went with judicial nominating committees. Gov. Haley Barbour, in one of his first official acts, has decided to use a committee. State law provides that the governor will appoint judges when vacancies occur.
   "A fair and impartial judiciary is essential to the protection of the rights and freedoms of the citizens of our state," Barbour said in a statement. "Only the most qualified, conscientious, dedicated and reputable people should be appointed to serve the public as judges. Whenever a vacancy occurs and it becomes my duty to appoint someone to the bench, everyone who is interested in that job would first be vetted by this committee."

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9. Congressional Races
   All four of the state’s incumbent congressmen drew opposition for the November elections. None has a primary opponent. Congressmen Roger Wicker and Chip Pickering face only weak challengers in Reform Party candidates who don’t even live in their respective districts.
  Fourth District Congressman Gene Taylor has the most serious challenger in Petal legislator Mike Lott (no relation to Trent Lott). Lott hails from the northern part of the new Fourth Congressional District. Prior to redistricting after the 2000 Census, the Fourth was dominated by theGulf Coast, a stronghold for Taylor. The population is fairly evenly split now between the Coast and the northern half of the district.
In his 15 years in Congress, Taylorhas consistently been a maverick. When the House leadership was dominated by Democrats, Tayloroften sided with Republicans. Taylordidn’t get along well with the Clinton Administration. Once the Republicans took the House majority, Taylorfrequently took to the House floor to launch verbal barbs at the GOP leadership.
   The maverick politician hasn’t spared the Bush Administration criticism. He opposed Bush’s tax cut and voted against the prescription drug plan,which eventually passed the House. When Democratic presidential hopeful Wes Clark visited Jacksonrecently, Taylorwas quoted as saying, “When George Bush was chasing girls at Yale, Wesley Clark was chasing Viet Cong in Vietnam.” Taylor’s quote wasn’t well received at the White House. Afterwards, the President was rumored to have made several calls recruiting candidates to run against Taylor.
   Taylor’s contrarian streak might put him philosophically at odds with many of his constituents, but he’s still personally popular in much of the district, and voters respect his independence. As with any incumbent, Taylorwill be exceedingly difficult to beat. It would be a huge upset.However,if there’s an upset in Mississippicongressional elections this year, this is probably the only chance.
   Any of the three Republican candidates could emerge as the nominee to challenge Congressman Bennie Thompson. Each has his or her own strengths and base of support. Stephanie Summers-O’Neal may be a slight favorite at this point because she’ll likely have a fundraising advantage. Whoever emerges will have an uphill fight against Thompson.
Qualified Candidates
1st District
(I)Roger Wicker - Republican - Tupelo
Barbara Dale Washer – Reform – Hattiesburg

2nd District
(I)Bennie Thompson - Democrat - Bolton
James Broadwater – Republican - Byrum
Clinton LeSueur - Republican – Greenville
Stephanie Summers-O’Neal - Republican – Jackson
Shawn O’Hara – Reform – Hattiesburg

3rd District
(I)Chip Pickering - Republican - Flora
Lamonica L. Magee – Reform – Foxsworth
Jim Giles – Independent – Pearl

4th District
(I)Gene Taylor - Democrat - Bay St.Louis
Mike Lott – Republican – Petal (House District 104 – Forrest and LamarCounties)
Steven McCaleb – Republican - Long Beach
Randy McDonnell – Republican - Biloxi
Karl Mertz – Republican - Long Beach
Tracella Lou O’Hara Hill – Reform – Hattiesburg

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10. Barbour names communication and policy staff
   Former Fordice communications director John Arledge will reprise his role as communications director in the Barbour administration. Arledge will wear another hat as Deputy Chief of Staff. Pete Smith comes over from State Auditor Phil Bryant’s office to server as Barbour’s press secretary. Kathryn Stewart, who worked on Barbour’s campaign, will be Smith’s deputy. Bo Kabala serves as the other deputy press secretary.
   Jim Perry, who ran the policy shop on Barbour’s campaign, will transition to the governor’s office as Director of Policy. Previously, Perry served as the Legislative Director of U.S. Congressman Roger Wicker. Joining Perry on the policy staff will be former Jackson City Councilman Daryl Neely, one-time Congressman Chip Pickering Deputy Chief of Staff John Rounsaville and former Assistant Dean of Student Organizations at UM, Dr. Jason Dean. Mary Alice Browning, Nicole Stofer and Lucien Smith will also assist in the policy shop.

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- National News -

11. The candidates on health care

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12. Kennedy Outlines Proposed Legislation For Universal Healthcare Coverage
   Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) has announced that he intends to introduce new legislation, the "Health Security and Affordability Act," to provide universal health insurance for all Americans. The cornerstone of Kennedy's universal coverage plan would be a requirement that employers share in the responsibility of providing health insurance to employees and their dependents. The proposed bill would include a guarantee that no employer would have to spend more than 12% of its payroll for employee healthcare, with the government covering the difference. For more information, click here.

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13. CMS publishes final rule on HIPAA unique provider identifier
   The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services published in Friday’s Federal Register a final rule establishing the National Provider Identifier as the standard unique identifier for health care providers filing and processing health care claims and other transaction standards called for under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The rule becomes effective on May 23, 2005, and most providers required to submit standard electronic transactions under HIPAA must obtain and begin using the NPIs in standard transactions by May 23, 2007. The exception is small health plans, which will have until May 23, 2008, to comply. CMS yesterday said providers need not apply for NPIs at this time, but will receive information on the application process closer to the effective date.

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14. CMS implements new Medicare policies for critical access hospitals
   The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services last week announced two new policies that will increase reimbursement to critical access hospitals for services to Medicare beneficiaries, and will allow those hospitals to use up to 25 beds for acute care services. The policies implement provisions in the recently signed Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 intended to bolster health care services in rural areas. As a result of those changes, payments to the 863 critical access hospitals that play a crucial role in the delivery of rural health care are expected to increase by $900 million over the next 10 years. In addition to increasing the permissible number of beds, the new policies put into effect a provision of Medicare law that increases the payment for both inpatient and outpatient services rendered by critical access hospitals from 100% to 101% of reasonable costs. John Supplitt, senior director of AHA's Section for Small or RuralHospitals, said the provisions "will contribute significantly to the stability and viability of the local hospitals and health systems serving our rural communities across America. We are pleased with the timely response by CMS to these two new policies." For more, see the CMS announcement here.

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15. Budget bill passes with no ban on overtime changes
   The passage of an appropriations bill for fiscal 2004 means the Labor Department can go forward with changes that the American Nurses Association contends could make many nurses ineligible for overtime pay. Unlike earlier versions, the spending bill that passed the Senate 65-28 does not block the Bush administration from making the changes, which include an increase in the minimum salary threshold for required overtime and new definitions of white-collar workers. The House passed the appropriations bill in December, but the Senate delayed its vote until Congress reconvened last week. Several Democrats tried unsuccessfully to further delay approval of the $328 billion spending bill, which sets limits for the federal government's discretionary spending. The bill includes $62.1 billion in discretionary spending for HHS, bringing the agency's total fiscal 2004 budget to $360.4 billion including mandatory spending for programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.

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16. Gephardt ends presidential nomination bid
   Richard Gephardt's poor showing in the Iowacaucuses last Monday brought an abrupt end to his White House bid and pushed the longtime U.S.lawmaker toward an earlier-than-hoped political retirement. Gephardt, 62, a 14-term U.S.congressman and former Democratic leader of the U.S. House of Representatives from neighboring Missouri, won the Iowacaucuses in 1988 at the start of his first White House bid, which soon fizzled out.
   Gephardt has gone for political broke this time. He stepped aside as House Democratic leader last year and announced he would not seek reelection to the House this year. Gephardt and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean had been running out front for months in Iowa, but U.S.Sens. John Kerry of Massachusettsand John Edwards of North Carolinacaught them in the polls and passed them in Monday's caucuses.

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