Louisiana Will Eliminate Health Benefits For HIV Patients, Poor Children, And First Time Moms This W
Last week, Louisiana’s poor and terminally ill residents won a surprising victory when Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) announced that his state would not stop providing hospice care
to its Medicaid beneficiaries. Unfortunately, that’s about the only
piece of good news for low-income Louisianans’ health coverage, as the
state is still set to implement massive cuts for Medicaid programs
that “provide behavioral health services for at-risk children, offer
case management visits for low-income HIV patients and pay for at-home
visits by nurses who teach poor, first-time mothers how to care for
their newborns” this Friday.
While Jindal administration officials argue
that the cuts could be mitigated by Medicare and private managed care
programs, the reality is that many of these specialty services are
simply unavailable - or unaffordable - outside of Medicaid:
Health and Hospitals Secretary Bruce Greenstein said he
targeted programs that were duplicative, costly and optional under the
state’s participation in the state-federal Medicaid program.
Greenstein said in many instances, people can get the care they’re losing through other government-funded programs. But
he acknowledged that won’t happen in every case, meaning some people
will simply lose the services or receive reduced services. [...]
Jan Moller heads the Louisiana Budget Project, which advocates for low- to moderate-income families. Moller said he’s most distressed by the cut to the Nurse-Family Partnership Program.
The health department is eliminating the portion of the program that offers at-home visits to low-income women who are pregnant with their first child. Registered nurses visit the women early in their pregnancy and until their children’s second birthday, offering advice on preventive health care, diet and nutrition, smoking cessation and other child developmental issues. [...]
“What the Nurse-Family Partnership does goes above and beyond what a good obstetrician does,”
Moller said. “It’s really about teaching life-skills to at-risk moms to
make them better parents and make them better able to care for their
children, and it’s been proven to work.”
Speech therapy programs for low-income children are also on the chopping block. The cuts - as well as Jindal’s proposals to raise taxes on the poor
while slashing public education and other health care funding - are
meant to plug a midyear budget deficit. But they are more likely to
raise health care costs and poverty levels in a state that already ranks
among America’s least-insured and poorest locales by pushing people
poor people into finding services that they will no longer be able to
afford.
While Jindal has spoken at length
on the Republican Party’s existential need to stop being “the stupid
party,” the “austerity” policies that he has pursued for his state are
some of the most regressive in the entire country.
SOURCE
Tag suggestions?? Thank you for the tag suggestions (those of you who have made some), and thanks in advance to anyone who might make more.
to its Medicaid beneficiaries. Unfortunately, that’s about the only
piece of good news for low-income Louisianans’ health coverage, as the
state is still set to implement massive cuts for Medicaid programs
that “provide behavioral health services for at-risk children, offer
case management visits for low-income HIV patients and pay for at-home
visits by nurses who teach poor, first-time mothers how to care for
their newborns” this Friday.
While Jindal administration officials argue
that the cuts could be mitigated by Medicare and private managed care
programs, the reality is that many of these specialty services are
simply unavailable - or unaffordable - outside of Medicaid:
Health and Hospitals Secretary Bruce Greenstein said he
targeted programs that were duplicative, costly and optional under the
state’s participation in the state-federal Medicaid program.
Greenstein said in many instances, people can get the care they’re losing through other government-funded programs. But
he acknowledged that won’t happen in every case, meaning some people
will simply lose the services or receive reduced services. [...]
Jan Moller heads the Louisiana Budget Project, which advocates for low- to moderate-income families. Moller said he’s most distressed by the cut to the Nurse-Family Partnership Program.
The health department is eliminating the portion of the program that offers at-home visits to low-income women who are pregnant with their first child. Registered nurses visit the women early in their pregnancy and until their children’s second birthday, offering advice on preventive health care, diet and nutrition, smoking cessation and other child developmental issues. [...]
“What the Nurse-Family Partnership does goes above and beyond what a good obstetrician does,”
Moller said. “It’s really about teaching life-skills to at-risk moms to
make them better parents and make them better able to care for their
children, and it’s been proven to work.”
Speech therapy programs for low-income children are also on the chopping block. The cuts - as well as Jindal’s proposals to raise taxes on the poor
while slashing public education and other health care funding - are
meant to plug a midyear budget deficit. But they are more likely to
raise health care costs and poverty levels in a state that already ranks
among America’s least-insured and poorest locales by pushing people
poor people into finding services that they will no longer be able to
afford.
While Jindal has spoken at length
on the Republican Party’s existential need to stop being “the stupid
party,” the “austerity” policies that he has pursued for his state are
some of the most regressive in the entire country.
SOURCE
Tag suggestions?? Thank you for the tag suggestions (those of you who have made some), and thanks in advance to anyone who might make more.