- Louisiana, the U.S. incarceration capital, prepares for expanded Medicaid, By Jayne O’Donnell, June 28, 2016, USA Today: “Here in the state that imprisons more of its citizens per capita than any other, the long-awaited July 1 launch of expanded Medicaid coverage will give those leaving prison a chance to at least continue what many describe as spotty treatment for the conditions that plagued them while behind bars. These include Dolfinette Martin, who has been out of prison for four years with no health coverage or medications to control her bipolar disorder, and Maryam Henderson-Uloho, who spent more than 12 years in prison, and who says she and other inmates seldom sought medical treatment because prison officials would write them up for ‘malingering’ when they did…”
- Louisiana Medicaid expansion and the promise of economic security, By Kevin Litten, June 30, 3016, New Orleans Times-Picayune: “There was a dignity in getting up to go to work each day, even if it was a low-wage janitorial job. Marigny resident Katherine White had been brought up with working class values: What you have is what you worked for, and friends and family were there to support you if you fell short. But because White didn’t have health insurance that would cover regular doctor visits and prescriptions to treat her persistent high blood pressure, she fell into a gap. That same gap has affected thousands of New Orleans area residents, plunging many of them into situations that threaten their ability to earn regular wages to support themselves and their families…”
- A rush to ERs in Louisiana Medicaid expansion? Clinics hope to fill that need, By Kevin Litten, July 1, 3016, New Orleans Times-Picayune: “In most of the 30 states that expanded Medicaid eligibility before Louisiana, emergency rooms often experienced a surge in traffic when tens of thousands of patients were made eligible for the federally subsidized health insurance. But in New Orleans and the surrounding area, it’s the network of health clinics established in the years after Hurricane Katrina that is expected to absorb many of the new patients. In many ways, the New Orleans area is uniquely positioned to begin treating the estimated 60,000 people who become eligible for Medicaid on Friday (July 1)…”
Tag: Louisiana
Medicaid Expansion – Louisiana
Medicaid expands, ERs brace, Ernest Burrell prays, By Richard Rainey, June 10, 2016, New Orleans Times-Picayune: “Ernest Burrell poured eight orange, translucent plastic bottles from a bag onto the floor of his Central City apartment. They clattered on the chipped, ruddy concrete. Unpronounceable labels — Spironolactone, Amlodipine, Indapamide and more — were typed in faint serif font above handwritten notes on which pills to take once a day, twice a day, three times a day. He fished a few more vials from a purple plaid knapsack with faded images of cartoon skulls etched in the fabric. In all, a dozen drugs and vitamins doctors say he needs to handle his high blood pressure, failing heart, depression, and Stage 3 kidney disease. The drugs aren’t optional. Heart attacks killed his mother, his father and his brother in the middle of their lives. His older sister wears a pacemaker. At 52, Burrell has survived two attacks himself. He needs those drugs…”
Public Defender System – Louisiana
On the defensive, By Dylan Walsh, June 2, 2016, The Atlantic: “Concordia Parish extends tall and narrow along the Mississippi River, where the ankle of Louisiana meets the instep. Almost one-third of its 20,000 residents live below the federal poverty line. Strip malls dominate Vidalia, the parish seat. Smaller satellite towns are home to Pentecostal mega-churches, defunct gas stations, and tin-sided shacks selling crawfish for $2 a pound. State highways run through low fields once flush with cotton that was picked by slaves and sold across the river to Natchez. Near the river is the parish courthouse, a low-slung building made of concrete and set behind a grassy berm. The court opens at 9:30, but the halls fill before then. People sit on the floor outside the double-doors of the courtroom entrance, crowd together on benches, wander around to find the offices where they can get the documents or signatures that they need…”