Gov. Haley Barbour is expected to call a special session next week to deal with the Department of Human Services budget, but he could also ask lawmakers to work on Medicaid legislation as well.

We strongly urge him to do so. When the new state budget year starts next week, 65,000 people will be off the Medicaid rolls, and they don’t know what to do about paying for their medication. There are options for them, but there has not been a lot of time for them to determine how to pay for their prescription drugs.

Some lawmakers want the state to add those thousands of people back to the Medicaid rolls; others simply want a delay so Mississippians can explore their options.

Either way, lawmakers need a chance to hash out a solution.

In the meantime, there are some opportunities for those people on Medicaid and Medicare to learn about the new Medicare prescription drug card. (The 65,000 people who will be taken off the Medicaid rolls are also covered under Medicare.)

On Wednesday, the Natchez Senior Center will host a discussion with a Medicare representative who will talk about the new prescription drug card. That talk is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the center at 800 Washington St.

And at 9 a.m. today, Constantinos I. Miskis, regional director for the office of the U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services, will be at the Agriculture and Forestry Museum, Forestry Building in Jackson to answer questions about the federal Medicare act.