Louisiana’s uninsured rate dropped to eight percent in 2018, below the national average of 8.9 percent.
Progressive advocate, and Louisiana Budget Project Executive Director Jan Moller says the uninsured rate has been cut in half since 2013 thanks to the Governor’s Medicaid expansion.
“That decision has led to more than 450,000 of our fellow Louisianans getting coverage.”
The uninsured rate as of 2013 was 16.6 percent in Louisiana per the Census.
Moller says the success of the Medicaid expansion has turned the policy into a third rail in Louisiana politics with none of the governor’s race candidates daring to threaten a repeal.
“This is a policy that crosses party lines. Democrats, Republicans, and Independents all understand that health coverage should be a right for everybody.”
Louisiana was one of only 15 states to see their uninsured rate drop as the national average crept up this year.
Moller says about a dozen states have rejected the Medicaid expansion, and those are generally the states with by far the highest uninsured.
“The state with the highest percentage of uninsured residents is Texas, and that is the one that we always try to compare ourselves to.”
