Louisiana Evicting Elderly, Disabled

The Story

• Today, 37,000 elderly and disabled Louisiana residents began to receive notice that they may be evicted from their nursing homes.
• A budget that passed the state House of Representatives includes spending cuts to Medicaid, which has been covering the residents’ nursing home costs.
• With the prospect of funds drying up on July 1, Louisiana’s Democrat governor said the eviction notices were necessary to give people time to adjust. The state’s Republican lawmakers claim it was a political move, designed to drum up panic amid a budget process that remains ongoing.

Why It Matters

• Medicaid is a federal-state collaboration covering about 1 in 5 Americans, making it the largest government health insurance program. President Obama expanded Medicaid by allowing states to cover millions more low-income adults.
• Republicans have long sought to roll back the expansion. President Trump has encouraged states to reshape their Medicaid programs, prompting states like Kentucky and Michigan to include new measures like work requirements for able-bodied adults.
• According to Vox, “The Trump administration could initiate the most dramatic reductions in Medicaid enrollment and spending since the program began, even though Trump as a presidential candidate promised he would not cut Medicaid.”
• The U.S. uninsured rate is 12.2 percent, up from a record low of 10.9 percent in 2016.

What do you think?

Should Medicaid coverage be rolled back? Should the United States work to cover more uninsured people? Hit Take Action, then share your thoughts below.

--Sara E. Murphy