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For all the debate about whether states should expand eligibility for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, it’s unclear whether doing so actually makes people healthier. Initial research into the impact of expansion is at the same time exhaustive and scarce, as well as seemingly contradictory in some cases.
Today, I’m hearing different stories. I recently spoke to a middle-aged mother who was diagnosed with cancer only because she now has coverage. Without coverage, her tumor may have been picked up too late to cure and her daughters would have grown up without their mother. I heard from a man in the Lafayette area who has sickle cell anemia. Because he now has a primary care doctor, he no longer has to go to the local emergency room several times a month for care.
The Louisiana Medicaid program is adapting its coverage guidelines for cervical cancer screening to conform to American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) guidelines.
Matthew Guidry of Opelousas, Louisiana, is one of thousands of Louisiana residents who is now getting care because of Medicaid expansion. Guidry, who has lived with sickle cell anemia almost all of his life, looked to the local emergency room for care. Although he could get relief for his pain there, it was much more difficult to find someone to treat his ongoing vision problems.
Up to 80 percent of heroin users reported beginning their addiction by misusing prescription opioids. In its continuing efforts to address the opioid epidemic in Louisiana, the Louisiana Department of Health is hosting a Lunch & Learn where medical, pharmacy and behavioral health experts will discuss the current status of prescription opioid use and abuse in Louisiana.
Jeff Sadow’s recent column, “Medicaid Expansion Busting the Budget” is misleading.
RFI for Provider-Led Accountable Care Organizations
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.