MOScout Daily Update: MSMA Builds War-Chest - Haug To Retire, Foley To Step Up - NYT on PA VLTs and more…
MSMA Builds War-Chest
Last week the Missouri State Medical Association funded two new PACs with $750,000 each.
MSMA already operates MO Medical PAC, which it describes as a separate fund financed entirely by voluntary donations. MMPC’s latest report showed $48,000 on-hand. It made two big contributions on that 8-Day Report…
· $15,000 – HRCC.
· $10,000 – MO Maverick PAC.
But Asclepius PAC and Patients First PAC appear to be a new political structure capable of deploying “association-scale” money. It made me curious what issues MSMA could be marshaling its resources for. I was told there’s not a specific issue, but it’s generally to invest in “Missourians’ ability to receive the highest quality healthcare.”
Here are a couple places where MSMA might be keeping a close eye
· Last session Rep. Melanie Stinnett’s HB 3010 dealing with “prior authorization” was a big fight in the Capitol. MSMA supported it, facing opposition generally from the insurance companies. A starter compromise was passed, but the issue could return.
· Another issue to watch is last session’s HB 2897, which would let optometrists do some procedures currently reserved for ophthalmologists. It cleared committee 19–2. MSMA opposed it. The Missouri Association of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons, an allied group that sometimes presents joint testimony with MSMA, said in its legislative update that “we fully expect scope expansion to take center stage next year. We’ve already been put on notice. The incoming Speaker intends for optometry scope expansion to be the first bill out of the House in 2027.”
And
The usual explanation for two PACs is that they’ll serve two different purposes.
For example, Patients First PAC could be used for public advertising that frames issues in terms of “patient rights,” while Asclepius PAC sounds esoteric enough to make candidate contributions without telegraphing their source.
Haug Retiring
Press release: Governor Mike Kehoe announced that Budget Director Dan Haug will retire effective October 1, 2026, following 11 years of service as budget director and 31 years of state government service.
Haug started with the state as an economist forecasting tax revenue for the Office of Administration's Division of Budget and Planning in 1995. In 2002, he joined the Senate Appropriations staff and served as director from 2005 to 2013. He then became the director of administration for the Department of Mental Health in 2013 before Governor Nixon named him budget director in 2015. Haug is the longest serving budget director, having served in the position under 4 Governors over 11 years.
Upon Haug’s retirement, Missouri Department of Corrections (DOC) Director Trevor Foley will serve as budget director.
An announcement on the appointment of the next director of the Missouri Department of Corrections is forthcoming.
What It Means
Haug was highly-respected. Not just his depth of experience and breadth of knowledge, but his accessibility and straightforward responsiveness.
It’s tough to make a change like this as the state faces another challenging budget year, but Trevor Foley is probably as good a choice as Kehoe could have made.
NYTimes on VLTs
The New York Times ran an article last week detailing Pennsylvania’s experience with “games of skill.” Read it here. Missouri is not the only state struggling to figure out the issue.
· In June, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that skill games could not be distinguished from slot machines, and so could no longer be set up anywhere without a gambling license…
· The conundrum now facing Pennsylvania is part of the rapid expansion of legal gambling and gambling-like behavior across the country, from sports betting to prediction markets. The state now has an estimated 70,000 skill game terminals scattered around grocery stores, V.F.W. halls, pizza shops, bowling alleys, tanning salons, cigar lounges, hotel lobbies, barber shops, farmers markets, strip clubs and car towing garages.
· Does the state let the court decision stand, leading to the removal of what will now be illegal gambling machines? Or does it fully legalize and regulate them, boosting tax revenue — and the state budget — while preserving valuable income for thousands of small businesses?
eMailbag
Zach Wyatt will be greatly missed. He’s one of the most reliable resources in the building.
Lobbyist Registrations
Jack Gamble added J & J Ventures; and deleted PENN Entertainment, Inc.
Matthew Griese deleted Activate Missouri.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Pat Thomas and Charles Denison.