Obama to highlight Louisiana decision to expand Medicaid

Louisiana has joined 30 other states and the District of Columbia in expanding Medicaid.

President Barack Obama speaks this morning at McKinley High School in Baton Rouge.

President Obama came in from Omaha, Nebraska.

Democratic Rep. Cedric Richmond said Louisiana, which fares poorly in poverty, education and health care, is a good place for Obama to focus on such issues.

“We are consistently ranked one of the poorest and unhealthiest states, and this cycle will not be broken as long as anyone in Louisiana has to choose between their health and their financial security”, Edwards said before signing the order, according to the New York Times.

Richmond says Obama will address the expansion of Medicaid in Louisiana and the importance of covering working individuals who typically wouldn’t qualify. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently gave California’s Medicaid program the green light on its waiver to transform and expand Medi-Cal.

Three states – Virginia, South Dakota and Wyoming – have Medicaid expansion under discussion, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Nearly 200,000 will gain access to health care as a result of that…

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana – The Obama administration agreed Wednesday to Gov. John Bel Edwards’ request to waive work requirements for thousands of food stamp recipients who were threatened with the loss of benefits. He and Republican members of Louisiana’s congressional delegation want the health care law repealed. “This is not even a close call”, Edwards said.

Edwards’ health secretary, Rebekah Gee, estimates her department will need to hire 248 new workers to handle the Medicaid patient enrollment and spend $2.8 million to pay for salaries, training and equipment.

Obama’s trip will highlight progress made over the last seven years – specifically the Affordable Care Act.

“What we want to try to find is common ground, ” he said.