Lisa Desjardins:
That’s right, Amna. Welcome to the Bayou State in the summer.
This is a place that is worth looking at for Medicaid, because almost a third of this state is on Medicaid. Now, when you talk to people here, going around the state, what I get most of all, what surprised me the most, is the level of uncertainty about what’s about to happen. And that’s across ideologies.
That’s because we don’t really know how the new law is going to be implemented. And a reminder that the new law would change how people need to show that they are eligible, how often they have to put in paperwork. There would be new work requirements in this bill potentially. And, also, it would decrease the amount of money states get.
So Republicans here say they think that they will be able to implement this law without hurting the vulnerable. But many others say, no, they’re concerned about that. For patients, there is confusion, Amna, over what it means for them.
We spoke to a woman, Rita. She’s a mother of three. She is working. The work requirements probably wouldn’t affect her. But she’s worried about whether her Medicaid would say if she misses some paperwork. And, overall, she expressed what we heard from most people, a great deal of anxiety.
