Medicaid cuts would hit rural Louisianans especially hard – here's how

Amite's Rural Health Clinic is a hub of health care and resources. This small clinic does such invaluable work that the Louisiana Rural Health Association named it the 2024 Outstanding Rural Health Organization of the Year award recipient. My family visits this clinic often, but my 18-year-old son, Connor, visits it the most.

Connor was born with multiple disabilities and requires round-the-clock care to meet his daily needs. In addition to his physical and cognitive disabilities, he is incredibly medically fragile. Our rural health clinic has come to his aid more times than I can count, and I trust them with his care outside of Manning Family Children's in New Orleans.

Read more: Medicaid cuts would hit rural Louisianans especially hard – here's how

OPINION: Republicans Deserve Our Appreciation for Protecting Medicaid

Photo source: SingleCare

As Congress works to finalize a budget agreement, President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson deserve thanks for their pledge to protect Medicaid.

When I worked as a registered nurse in Louisiana’s hospitals, I saw up close and personally the impact that Medicaid has in our communities. It is a lifeline for our most vulnerable residents— children, seniors, veterans, rural families, and people living with disabilities.

More than 1.4 million Louisianans—20% of our state’s population—get their health insurance through Medicaid. It covers more than 60% of births, 56% of children with special needs, and three quarters of nursing home residents. One in three rural residents is enrolled in the program.

Louisiana’s Medicaid expansion in 2016 has been good for patients and our economy. Nearly half a million additional residents have received preventative care and mental health services. It has saved our state $317 million, created nearly 20,000 jobs, and supported $3.57 billion in economic activity.

Republicans understand that hard-working, blue-collar families in Louisiana and across the country rely on Medicaid. President Trump has repeatedly pledged to not touch benefits. Speaker Johnson confirmed this week the House’s plan will not affect coverage or benefits. And Republican leaders have already begun to look for other funding sources to protect this essential program. We owe them a debt of gratitude.

Of course, negotiations aren’t done until a budget is signed by the president. I hope lawmakers will remain steadfast in their commitment to uphold Medicaid—which also means opposing a block grant structure, which is simply big cuts disguised under a different name.

All Louisianans deserve access to high-quality, affordable healthcare. Our Republican leaders know how important this issue is, and I trust they will do the right thing for our state.

Lu Jones

LANDRY: In Combating Government Mismanagement and Medicaid, Trust But Verify

Photo source: LA AG Office

Louisiana State Auditor Darryl Purpera said it best: "We've got a mess right now." And indeed we do. Recent Louisiana Legislative Auditor findings were quite scathing when it comes to Governor Edwards teams ability to manage the Department of Health. The Legislative Auditor exposes carelessness with tax payers dollars through lack of oversight, lazy record keeping and a whole host of other infractions of the $12 billion dollar program. 

Attorney General Jeff Landry has long been a vocal advocate for addressing the Medicaid problems and rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse in the program. During the 2018 regular legislative session AG Landry worked with conservative lawmakers to introduce legislation that would have allowed the AGs office to investigate Medicaid recipients who falsified information on their Medicaid applications. This effort was killed by cronies of the Edwards administration when they accused these lawmakers of waging war on the poor. Now that the legislative auditors report has been released, the administration can not longer hide behind their facades.

In an recent Hayride article, Attorney General Landry discusses the recent audit findings. Thank you General Landry for pledging to continue the fight in protecting Louisiana taxpayers and holding the administration accountable!

Read the full article HERE.

LAGOP Issue Statement Regarding Expansion of Medicaid in Louisiana

Photo source: LAGOP

Edwards' Medicaid Expansion is bad fiscal and health care policy
 
If hosting President Obama in Baton Rouge and compounding the state's fiscal challenges by expanding Medicaid are Governor John Bel Edwards' ideas for bringing Louisianans together, he's sadly mistaken.

"Governor Edwards is beginning his tenure by making a critical mistake on the very important issue of health care," Republican Party Executive Director Jason Dore said today.

"Obamacare's Medicaid expansion will cost the state more than $1.3 billion over the next decade, based on 2015 DHH estimates, crowding out funding for other priorities like higher education. Expanding Medicaid will force 224,000 Louisianians from private insurance to Medicaid rolls," he said.

Medicaid expansion prioritizes coverage of able-bodied adults over individuals with disabilities. Medicaid is a program that was never meant to cover able-bodied individuals to this scale. Therefore it has become an inefficient program that delivers poor health outcomes.

If Obamacare is expanded, it means that 40 percent of Louisiana’s population would be put on a Medicaid program that is antiquated, poorly run, and delivers inferior health care. The Oregon Experiment found that, contrary to the president’s promises, throwing more people on Medicaid does not improve physical health outcomes and does not decrease their use of emergency rooms. Expanding Medicaid to cover these households instead increases their emergency-room use by 40 percent.

"We can't trust the federal government," Dore said. "Funding for Obamacare is unstable. The payment for Obamacare continues to unravel, which will encourage cost-shifting to states, putting Louisiana on the hook for additional spending. The instability could threaten the state’s ability to fund education and transportation and could force future tax increases on Louisianians," he said.

Current assumptions of total cost to the state are based on the assumption that the federal government keeps its promise regarding the enhanced federal match rate (FMAP). With a over $18 trillion debt, promises of more federal money are a risky bet. Louisianians know from experience that federal funding can’t be counted on.

"A recent report from the Congressional Research Service confirms what many policy experts have known for some time: States that reject Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion aren’t sending that Medicaid expansion money to other states. Instead, that money is simply never spent. ...As the Congressional Budget Office has repeatedly pointed out, states that reject Obamacare expansion are reducing federal spending. The Obama administration confirmed that rejected Medicaid expansion saved federal taxpayers at least $26 billion in 2014. If those states continue to reject Obamacare, federal taxpayers will spend $368 billion less on Medicaid expansion through 2022," Dore said.