Wednesday, January 13th, 2016
Stephan: And here is the antipode to Kentucky. Where Kentucky, with its new Republican Governor is gutting its nationally recognized Kynect state healthsystem, newly elected Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards immediately followed up on his election pledge and signed an executive order which will allow 300,000 people to get healthcare. It is expected to lower Louisiana costs by millions, where Kentucky's change is expected to cost the state tens of millions.
Bel Edwards replaces Piyush "Bobby" Jindal, failed Presidential candidate and another of the failed Republican Red value governors. Like Sam Brownback in Kansas, and Scott Walker in Wisconsin, Jindal took over a state in sound financial condition -- there was a $2 billion surplus -- and left office with a $2 billion budget shortfall, a trashed educational system, a scandalous prison system, and impoverished elders.
Bel Edwards' executive action should be in place by July 1st, and is expected to change the lives of hundreds of thousands of Louisiana citizens for the better. It will be interesting to see how they react.
It is a shame corporate media almost never covers these kind of comparison stories, so very few people seem to know about the glaring differences between Democratic and Republican governance. It all stays in the abstract.
Louisiana Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards signing executive order expanding Medicaid
Credit: Kevin Litten/Times Picyune
Louisiana became the 31st state to expand Medicaid after Gov. John Bel Edwards signed an executive order Tuesday (Jan. 12) that will make more than 300,000 people eligible for the federal health care program.
The news conference marked a major break from the policies of former Gov. Bobby Jindal, who refused to expand Medicaid due to his opposition to the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama’s signature domestic legislative achievement. Edwards said he plans to discuss his decision to expand Medicaid with Obama when he visits Louisiana on Wednesday.
With his signature, Edwards made Louisiana the first state in the deep South to accept Medicaid funding to care for the working poor considered in “the gap:” too poor to afford private insurance, but making too much money to qualify for the program.
Louisiana expands Medicaid: Are you eligible?
It will also make Louisiana a closely watched Medicaid expansion state due to […]
