As the hospital industry and a St. Joseph doctor continue to duke it out over competition issues, a key piece of health care legislation is stalled in the process.

Some political movement came Thursday, but little progress could come from the maneuver.

The News-Press previously has reported of the calamity that now faces Insure Missouri, Gov. Matt Blunt’s plan to give 200,000 Missourians access to health insurance.

In a nutshell, House Speaker Rod Jetton, R-Marble Hill, refuses to call up any Insure Missouri legislation that doesn’t include certain hospital competition provisions that Rep. Dr. Rob Schaaf, R-St. Joseph, is pushing heavily.

The Missouri Hospital Association adamantly opposes the bill Dr. Schaaf authored to enact Insure Missouri because of the provisions and has lobbied against it, thus swaying votes out of his favor.

The Senate passed a clean Insure Missouri bill without the competition components, but it has sat still in the House without any attention.

On Thursday, the bill finally was referred to committee, theoretically setting it in motion for a House hearing and possible floor debate.

The hiccup?

Dr. Schaaf chairs the health care transformation committee that will consider the bill from Sen. Tom Dempsey.

Dr. Schaaf has told the News-Press that if the bill comes to his committee he would replace its language with his own. Mr. Jetton could then force a vote on the Senate version, but if he, Dr. Schaaf and the hospital association don’t strike a deal, they’ll all find themselves back in the current predicament. Last week’s decision from budget negotiators to slash funding for the initiative further complicates matters with two weeks remaining in the session.

Biodiesel could get tanked

Also hung up in committee is a bill that would require a biodiesel standard similar to the 10 percent ethanol requirement that went into place this year in Missouri. SB 759, which the Senate already has OK’d, received a hearing in the House of Representatives last week, but recent controversy surrounding the state’s involvement in the ethanol industry has rolled over into the biodiesel discussion. Opponents blame high food and animal feed prices on ethanol’s prevalence. And others criticize imposing a standard when the soybean industry already receives government subsidies. Insiders question whether the bill will make it out of the transportation committee.

A less taxing commute

Good news for Kansas commuters to St. Joseph came last week from Jefferson City. The House sent to the governor legislation that reverses a tax war between Missouri and Kansas.

A high-profile Social Security tax cut for Missourians that became law this summer also nixed a real-estate tax deduction for non-residents. The move upped Missouri taxes for people who work here but live out of state. The blow was meant for residents of Illinois, which doesn’t offer the deduction to Missourians, but inadvertently affected Kansans who work in Missouri.

In fear of retribution from Kansas lawmakers, the House unanimously passed SB 748, which already gained approval from the Senate with no further negotiations. Mr. Blunt now can sign the bill into law.

‘08 Insider over,

session continues

This serves as the last Jefferson City Insider for the 2008 legislative session. Check the News-Press’ political blog at www.sjnp.net/news/blogs/politicalpunch for updates during the remaining two weeks of the session and in the legislative off-season.

Alyson E. Raletz covers the state Legislature for the News-Press. She can be reached at alysonraletz@npgco.com or at (573) 636-2307.