Medicaid

The Louisiana Department of Health and the state's Medicaid program are in one of the strongest financial positions in six years, after the state opted to expand Medicaid through the federal Affordable Care Act, a new report shows.

By any reasonable standard, the expansion of Medicaid in Louisiana appears to be a success.

Reducing the incidence of premature birth in Louisiana is a goal of the Louisiana Department of Health and one in which improvements are being made. In just three years, the rate of preterm birth has been reduced from 15.1 percent to 12.3 percent. In spite of this improvement, communities in Louisiana still have some of the highest rates of preterm birth in the country.

The Louisiana Medicaid Expansion program has reached a new milestone. To date, more than 326,000 new members have enrolled in Louisiana Medicaid Expansion and over 24,000 of those members have received preventative care visits with a provider.

In an effort to help Louisiana Medicaid practitioners adopt electronic health records (EHR), the Louisiana Department of Health will host an EHR vendor and clearinghouse vendor fair Wednesday, October 26, 2016, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Room 118 of the Bienville building located at 628 North 4th Street in downtown Baton Rouge.

New policies allow for coverage of breast reconstruction post mastectomy and genetic testing for breast and ovarian cancer

While Louisiana is making progress in its insurance coverage gap with the expansion of Medicaid for the working poor, is there going to be a health services gap?

Nearly 12,000 adults, newly enrolled in Medicaid, have received preventative health care services since Medicaid eligibility was expanded on July 1. In addition, more than 305,000 new members have enrolled in the program.

One of the biggest health care stories these days doesn’t get nearly the attention it deserves. It is the slow-but-steady expansion of Medicaid, the program that’s been providing insurance to the poor since the 1960s, as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). If you follow the political debates about “Obamacare,” chances are you hear much more about changes to the private insurance market and what those changes mean for consumers.

Due to the recent flooding, many Louisiana Medicaid recipients are in need of essential medications. Here is some important information for anyone seeking to get a refill of their prescription medications.