A veto session has passed quietly, with lawmakers leaving Jefferson City after an uneventful day. Some leave believing they missed an opportunity. A rally on the Capitol steps sent the message loud and clear to state lawmakers gathered for the annual Veto Session; workers with disabilities remain without Medicaid coverage. The top Democrat in the House, Representative Jeff Harris of Columbia, says the legislature should have stayed in special session to approve a scaled-down version of the Medical Assistance for Workers with Disabilities program.The money for a revived MAWD program is in the budget. The program, though, wasn’t resurrected during the regular session when the House and Senate failed to agree on a separate bill: an anti-Medicaid fraud bill. Governor Blunt refused to call a special session on MAWD without addressing fraud. Harris moved during the brief Veto Session to call the legislature into special session, a motion denied by House Speaker Rod Jetton, the top Republican, who noted Harris’ motion was out-of-order.Jetton says reauthorizing MAWD remains a top priority of House Republicans and pledges that the legislature will work quickly in the upcoming session to bring back MAWD.
