Texas County’s representatives in the Missouri General Assembly return to work Wednesday.
Rep. Don Wells, R-Cabool; and Sen. Chuck Purgason, R-Caulfield, resume duties in Jefferson City as the body convenes. The session adjourns in mid-May.
This year, immigration and providing the uninsured health coverage will be top priorities for GOP lawmakers, who hold the majority in both the Missouri House and Senate.
Doctors who treat lower-income Missourians would get a nearly $53 million pay raise under a budget proposal outlined late last week by Gov. Matt Blunt.
Physicians who participate in the state’s Medicaid program have long received less money than they would for providing the same services to patients covered by private insurance or the federal Medicare program for seniors.
As a result, some doctors have dropped out of Medicaid or stopped taking new patients covered by the government health care program for the poor. Missouri’s Medicaid program was renamed earlier this year as Mo HealthNet.
Republican Blunt, who enters the year with a tough re-election battle looming, met privately with Republican legislators from the Ozarks last week. With a full platter of politics on tap for 2008, substantial legislation may not surface. Blunt is expected to face Attorney General Jay Nixon, a Democrat, in November.
How to contact your legislators:
Rep. Don Wells
201 W. Capitol Ave.
Room 236A
Jefferson City , MO 65101
573-751-1490
Sen. Chuck Purgason
State Capitol Building
Room 420A
Jefferson City, MO 65101
573-751-1882