Louisiana shows pent-up demand for health coverage
The overwhelming response to Louisiana’s expanded Medicaid program is an illustration of how many people have been waiting a chance to get health insurance, especially in states where politicians have resisted the Affordable Care Act, writes Noam Levey of the Los Angeles Times.
As of August 1, more than 265,000 people in Louisiana had signed up for Medicaid in the two months since the expansion took effect.
“People have needed coverage here for a long, long time,” David Hood, the state’s former health secretary from 1998 to 2004, told the LA Times. “This is long overdue.”
For more on how great the demand has been in other recent Medicaid expansion states, click on the link below:
John joined TriMed in 2016, focusing on healthcare policy and regulation. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago, he worked at FM News Chicago and Rivet News Radio, and worked on the state government and politics beat for the Illinois Radio Network. Outside of work, you may find him adding to his never-ending graphic novel collection.