BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) –
Enrollment specialists across the state spent Wednesday enrolling people into the new, expanded Medicaid program in Louisiana.
Open enrollment started Wednesday and thousands of people in the state wasted no time signing up.
“Tons will be eligible because it’s so many people that, you know fell into that range of no coverage,” said Stephanie Harold, an enrollment specialist at Care South in Baton Rouge.
Previously, a household of three had to have an income of less than $3,500 a year. Now, that income limit has jumped significantly to around $27,000 a year.
Harold believes this will lead to a healthier Baton Rouge, now that more people are insured and can see doctors.
“Get in and see a primary care doctor and don’t have to worry about it,” Harold said. “A lot of people, you know, they skip doctor appointments or they don’t go until it’s too late or they go to the emergency room and run up a big bill.”
An applicant also needs to be between the ages of 19 and 64 and meet the Department of Health and Hospitals’ citizenship requirement.
The DHH estimates that this program will provide healthcare to more than 350,000
Article source: https://health.einnews.com/article/328975604/o_naatcNzj2UhXM6?ref=rss&ecode=uiQ1mLaH2KVPSS4e