Two-Month-Old Medicaid Expansion is Already Helping Louisiana Get Healthy

It’s been only two months since the Louisiana Medicaid expansion—dubbed Healthy Louisiana—went into effect, and already Louisianans are reaping the benefits.

New data show that Medicaid expansion has helped over 305,000 Bayou State residents get health coverage. But coverage through Healthy Louisiana means more than just an insurance card. New enrollees are using their coverage to get vital preventive care and treatment.

Bayou State residents are getting vital preventive care

Last week, the Louisiana Department of Health released data about the people who have signed up for Healthy Louisiana since July 1. Nearly 12,000 of these newly enrolled adults have already started receiving screening and treatment for chronic conditions and illnesses including breast cancer, colon cancer, and diabetes.

Some highlights:

• More than 1,000 women have received mammograms or other diagnostic breast imaging and 24 of these women are currently being treated for breast cancer.
• Nearly 700 adults have received colonoscopies and more than 100 had polyps, an early sign of colon cancer, removed during the procedure.
• 160 adults have been newly diagnosed with diabetes and have started receiving necessary care to help them manage their condition.

These numbers represent real people benefitting from Medicaid expansion. Detecting and treating diseases at earlier stages and before they become more severe keeps them from progressing.

This allows people to stay healthy and remain in the workforce, in addition to helping them avoid complications that can be costly to individuals and the health care system.

The facts are clear: Medicaid expansion is already working in Louisiana

This data is just the latest addition to the overwhelming evidence of the positive impact of Medicaid expansion.

If Louisiana’s neighbors followed its example, they too could reap the rewards of a healthier workforce, diseases prevented, and lives saved.