Louisiana gets innovative to catch up on Medicaid expansion: Editorial

NOLA

By Editorial Board

Louisiana refused to accept the extra federal money to expand Medicaid until Gov. John Bel Edwards took office in January. However, an innovative approach by the Department of Health and Hospitals could allow tens of thousands of eligible residents to be approved almost immediately.

DHH officials are “highly confident” that federal Medicaid officials will approve their request to use food stamp records to add uninsured residents to the health care program for low-income residents. Louisiana would be the first one to use food stamps.

 

“I think it makes a huge difference, and it makes a lot of sense,” said Adam Searing, a senior research fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families. “What the experience has shown us so far is that people are very motivated to sign up because it’s such an expense and a benefit to be able to go to the doctor. But there’s not one day when everyone signs up. It typically takes a few years” to get everyone enrolled.

The state expects that change to bring in 375,000 low-income Louisiana residents who had earned too much to qualify for Medicaid coverage before. Processing all those people is a huge undertaking.

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