Senator Kevin Blackwell tells�SuperTalk Mississippi�he’s hoping to finish up the final draft of a medical marijuana bill today.� He says lawmakers are getting close to an agreement on something will that replace Initiative 65, which was struck down by the state Supreme Court.
Blackwell told us they’ve covered a lot of ground since House Speaker Philip Gunn assigned Representative Lee Yancey to take the lead on the house side.� But don’t expect a call for a special session on the issue anytime soon.� “Then it’ll have to go through more Senators taking a look at it, and then over to the House, and we have the Governor’s Office that needs to weigh in.”
During an interview on�The Gallo Show,�Blackwell also discussed upcoming Medicaid hearings.� They’re expected to begin next month.� While he says they won’t necessarily be about Medicaid expansion, lawmakers are trying to find a way to help Mississippians that are falling through the cracks.
Some states are tapping into the private insurance market.� “Going into our state health plan, for instance, and adding all those people to the rolls.� We should be able to get a much lower premium rate,” he told us.� He estimates that could help about 150-thousand Mississippians.� “All the other states have hit a number.� That’s usually doubled,” he continued.
Mississippi is one of 14 states that have rejected an all-out expansion of Medicaid.
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