Louisiana expands Medicaid under Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards
Affected adults will be eligible to receive benefits and have their Medicaid cards on July 1.
Louisiana has adopted Medicaid expansion, making it the 32nd state, including the District of Columbia, to take on the Affordable Care Act initiative.
New Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, a former state representative, took office Monday and on Tuesday signed an executive order for Medicaid expansion.
He succeeds former Republican governor Bobby Jindal to become the first Democratic governor in the Deep South for over a decade.
Edwards campaigned on a promise to extend healthcare coverage to low-income Louisianians.
[Also: Michigan study latest to suggest Medicaid expansion led to fewer uninsured hospital stays]
"Because of the previous administration's refusal to expand critical healthcare services, low-income adults suffered without healthcare because they were too poor to qualify for subsidized care on the Health Insurance Exchange, but made too much money to qualify for Medicaid," Edwards said on the governor's website.
Dr. Rebekah Gee, Edward's pick to lead Louisiana's Department of Health and Human Services, is prioritizing the expansion so affected adults will be eligible to receive benefits and have their Medicaid cards on July 1, the governor said in the statement.
Medicaid expansion could cover as many as 275,000 adults who are currently uninsured, and bring $16 billion in federal funds back to Louisiana, Edwards said.
[Also: Matt Bevin elected governor of Kentucky, leaves future of state's Medicaid expansion in jeopardy]
Sixteen states have not adopted Medicaid: Maine, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Utah and Idaho, Virginia, South Dakota and Wyoming.
Three states - Virginia, South Dakota and Wyoming - have Medicaid expansion under discussion, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Wisconsin covers adults up to 100 percent of the federal poverty level but did not adopt the ACA expansion, Kaiser said.
Alabama's Republican governor, Robert Bentley said he is "looking" at the possibility, according to published reports.
Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, a conservative Republican, ran on a promise to reduce the program and abolish the state-run exchange called Kynect, but reportedly has backtracked, saying he will "transform" the program rather than dismantle it.
Opponents of expanded Medicaid cite the 10 percent in costs that states will eventually have to bear, as well as ideological objections to Obamacare.
Twitter: @SusanJMorse
