Bills clear hurdle, but Medicaid crisis looms

The Clarion-Ledger, 3/27/8

Bills that would change Mississippi’s gaming laws, fund education and allow cities to seize drug houses survived a key legislative deadline Wednesday.

But they’re likely headed to negotiations between House and Senate leaders and will undergo further changes before they are sent to Gov. Haley Barbour’s desk.

Rival bills addressing casinos cleared House and Senate floors on the deadline for lawmakers to consider measures originating in the opposite chamber. Also, legislators said they are working on alternate plans to fund Medicaid, the health insurance program that serves hundreds of thousands of low-income Mississippians. The program faces cuts in services if funding isn’t found in less than a month.