It’s anticipated that Governor-elect Jeff Landry will announce the appointment of former Congressman and physician Ralph Abraham to be the next Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health today.
“The Louisiana Department of Health is a pretty major undertaking, it’s just about the biggest thing that the state does in terms of dollars. Chances are that he’s going to try to bring conservative principals to that position,” said ULM political science professor Dr. Pearson Cross.
With the majority of LDH’s budget funded by federal dollars, Pearson said it’s a plus the former congressman understands the allocation and appropriation process.
“Louisiana’s budget is so intertwined with the federal government that having that kind of expertise and having that kind of access to policymakers at the federal government is quite important,” said Pearson.
While in Congress Abraham was in favor of the repealing of the Affordable Care Act and against Medicaid expansion, which LDH oversees. On the campaign trail, Landry stated it would be difficult to roll Medicaid back once it’s been expanded.
The pandemic placed even more scrutiny on the department and Cross said whoever is appointed Secretary will have a large responsibility.
“No matter how you cut it, it’s enormously complicated, enormously expensive, and quite controversial in a number of areas which we saw when it came to vaccines,” said Cross.
Abraham graduated from LSU School of Medicine in 1994 and practiced family medicine. In 2014 he was elected to his first of three terms in Congress. In 2020 he ran for governor but failed to make the runoff between Eddie Rispone and Governor John Bel Edwards.
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