JACKSON — Mississippi Medicaid officials have appealed a Hinds County judge's decision that blocked implementation of some cost controls in the health care program, including that one reduced payments to pharmacists.

The Mississippi Supreme Court has scheduled arguments in the case for Sept. 29. The case is among dozens the Supreme Court will consider during the September-October term.

Several pharmacists' organizations sued the Division of Medicaid after it adopted new pharmacy reimbursement rules in 2008.

Hinds County Chancery Judge William Singletary blocked Medicaid from implementing the changes. Medicaid appealed Singletary's ruling.

Singletary ruled that Medicaid put a new reimbursement scheme in place without approval from the Legislature.

He said state law provides three methods to determine how much a pharmacist would be reimbursed for dispensing generic drugs. He said Medicaid exceeded its authority in adding a fourth method without the Legislature amending state law.

Singletary rejected Medicaid's explanation that it was acting with its authority to define drug costs and reimbursements.

He said what Medicaid was trying to do was to reduce annual expenditures for certain drugs by $7.8 million in state funds.

Medicaid "attempted to use a legislative loophole to create a rule that is otherwise outside the scope of its authority," Singletary said. "It is obvious that this attempt is still a violation of the statutory mandates ... that prohibits changes in rates of payment without a legislative amendment."

The Supreme Court will decide a number of cases based on briefs filed by attorneys rather than hearing oral arguments.

Among them is Jonathan Barfield's appeal of his 2008 conviction in the shooting death of his girlfriend. Barfield was sentenced to 20 years in prison for manslaughter in Harrison County.

Prosecutors said the body of 17-year-old Tiffany Talley was found Dec. 27, 2006, inside Barfield's trailer in Gulfport.

Barfield contended the shooting was an accident. Barfield testified that he answered Talley's knocks at the door of his FEMA trailer with a gun because he said living in a FEMA park was dangerous. He said Talley bumped him as she entered the trailer and the gun went off.

The Supreme Court also will rule on the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance's recommendation of a public reprimand for Madison County Judge William Agin. The commission said in June that Agin failed to render an opinion in a civil case "in a timely manner."

The commission said it had previously cautioned Agin for similar conduct.

The latest case involves a motion filed in November 2007. The commission said Agin didn't rule on the motion until Jan. 12, 2009, after the Mississippi Supreme Court had been notified about the slow pace of the case.