House Speaker Rod Jetton (R-Marble Hill) says a special legislative session could be in the works.Jetton has spoken with Governor Blunt about the governor’s requirements for calling a special session in conjunction with the annual Veto Session held in September. The governor says he will call a special session only if the House is willing to take up and pass a Medicaid fraud bill similar to what the Senate approved in the regular session. Jetton says the House is anxious to return to the Medical Assistance for Workers with Disabilities program and would be agreeable to linking the MAWD program with Medicaid fraud. Both bills died the last week of the regular legislative session. While the Senate and House don’t seem far apart on ideas to revive a scaled-down version of the MAWD program, they are at odds over Medicaid fraud. The Senate approved a bill that would crack down on hospitals and doctors that defraud Medicaid. The House has resisted going as far as the Senate wants in punishing those caught defrauding Medicaid. Blunt says he wants assurances the House will act on Medicaid fraud before he commits to calling a special session.
