LDH: 305,000 Enrolled In Expanded Medicaid Program

More than 300,000 people have signed up for Medicaid expansion in Louisiana since coverage began on July 1^st. Louisiana Department of Health Secretary Dr. Rebekah Gee says this program is already saving lives. She says so far, 1,000 mammograms have been completed.

“24 breast cancers have been detected, almost 700 colonoscopies with over 100 patients of those had polyps, which are pre-cancers.”

Dr. Gee says we have now changed the landscape of health care coverage and have increased the likelihood that patients will seek and receive important, life-saving care.

“12,000 adults with preventive services and 160 individuals newly diagnosed with diabetes”

The state’s top health official discussed the expansion of Medicaid while speaking in front of the Baton Rouge Press Club. She also spoke about mosquitoes, which have become a big problem after the recent flooding in the southern part of the state. She says LDH is working with doctors to alert expectant mothers of Zika, along with, mosquito abatement teams to keep the population down.

"We’ve got about 2.6 million additional dollars from the federal government that we’re using to build additional lab capacity and additional on the ground capacity if there were to be local transmission so we could go door to door and education the public.”