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| Sen. Mary Landrieu |
Dear Friend,
When Gov. Jan Brewer announced Arizona's Medicaid expansion, she
explained that her state "can leverage nearly $8 billion in federal
funds over four years, save or protect thousands of quality jobs and
protect our critical rural and safety net hospitals."
Florida Gov. Rick Scott said of his state's expansion: "The federal
health department has committed to working with us to ensure we have all
the flexibilities we need to make Medicaid best meet the needs of
Floridians."
Govs. Brewer and Scott are part of the growing chorus of
Republican
governors who understand that expanding Medicaid by accepting 100
percent of federal funds for three years and no less than 90 percent
thereafter is a smart economic move for their states. Despite their
opposition to the Affordable Care Act, these governors understand that
the time for political posturing is over.
But Gov. Jindal's posturing has continued, as he falsely argues that a
Medicaid expansion would be too expensive and not flexible enough for
Louisiana. Mounting evidence from multiple, independent sources shows
otherwise.
The Daily Advertiser in Lafayette agrees that Gov. Jindal should take another look at expanding expanding Medicaid in Louisiana.
Currently, when people without insurance go to the hospital and
cannot pay, the state and the hospital pick up the cost, passing it on
to people with private insurance for an estimated cost of $1,000 per
family each year.
Expanding access through Medicaid would give up to 400,000 Louisianians
access to basic medical care. These are mostly working people who simply
cannot afford health insurance. Not only does this save hundreds of
millions of taxpayers' money from being spent on so-called
"uncompensated care," it also boosts the budgets of our state, our
hospitals and the many businesses and suppliers that work with them in
urban and rural areas alike.
By all estimates, including a study commissioned by the Jindal
Administration, the Medicaid expansion would bring billions of federal
dollars into our state's economy. A recent Families USA report estimates
the expansion would bring 15,600 new jobs to our state by 2016 and $1.8
billion in additional economic activity for 2016 alone. Figures like
these are why governors across the country are saying yes to expanding
health coverage for their people.
There are even more reasons why the Medicaid expansion is best for Louisianians, as the Times-Picayune editorial board points out.
Gov. Jindal also claims that adequate flexibility has not been
granted—that's simply not true. In Arkansas for example, Gov. Mike Beebe
worked out an agreement with the federal government to allow his state
to use the federal funds to extend private insurance to
Medicaid-eligible people. In Florida, Gov. Scott secured a federally
approved plan allowing the state to extend its version of Bayou Health
to all Medicaid-eligible people.
In fact, the creation of Bayou Health, the Governor's initiative to
give Medicaid enrollees the opportunity to select a private plan to
oversee their care, required a waiver from the federal government, which
he has secured.
Louisiana's Health Secretary Bruce Greenstein wrote in a health care
journal that Bayou Health is "the most significant transformation of
Louisiana's Medicaid program in its more than 40 years of existence."
Now that it is transformed, why can't it be expanded to give more
working people a chance for quality health care?
As Gov. Brewer said, "the Affordable Care Act is the law of the
land." Whether Louisiana expands Medicaid or not, our citizens will
still pay for it, only that money will go to states like Arkansas,
Florida and Arizona. Does it make sense for our taxes to only support
health coverage for people in other states?
It's time for Gov. Jindal to put the needs of Louisianians above his own
political posturing. It is the right thing for our people, our health
and our economy.
Keep in touch,
I could go on and on with my list. I began to lose a friend when I continued to suggest that there were no WMD in Iraq and that there was no connection between Saddam and al Qaeda. I finally lost that friend on May 1, 2003, when I mocked George W Bush's "Mission Accomplished" moment.
