WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., today warned that the health care reform bill being amended today in the Senate Finance Committee would hurt Mississippi’s budget by placing a larger Medicaid burden on the state.  Wicker’s comments follow similar concerns raised last week by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid about his state of Nevada.

“I agree with Majority Leader Reid’s assessment that the Senate Finance Committee bill will further burden already cash-strapped states.  I will not vote for a health care reform bill unless it protects Mississippi.  The two bills currently being considered in the Senate would only add to Mississippi’s Medicaid troubles.  We must find a way to fix the parts of our system that are not working while still maintaining the parts that are.”