Louisiana’s New Governor Expands Medicaid, Effective July 2016

On January 12, 2016, newly elected Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards signed an executive order to expand Medicaid to individuals up to 138% of the federal poverty level (FPL). The executive order states that implementation of the expansion should begin by July 1, 2016. The Governor’s office estimates that 350,000 people will be eligible under the expansion.

In June 2015, the state legislature passed House Concurrent Resolution 75, which did not expand Medicaid, but provided funding for Medicaid expansion if it were to be approved. Funding for the expansion would come from an assessment levied on non-rural . . .