BATON ROUGE — The 37,000 nursing home residents who could lose Medicaid under the budget passed by the Louisiana House of Representatives could be getting eviction notices this week, according to the Monroe News-Star.
Louisiana Department of Health spokesman Bob Johannessen told WGNO that the department is giving notice to all affected people as soon as possible so they can make contingency plans. He said the department plans to release more information to media outlets later this week.
The budget passed by the House is still pending in the Senate and includes massive cuts to health care statewide. The cuts are in response to a budget shortfall that’s somewhere between $550 million and $650 million, according to the News Star.
In Lafayette, the city’s only safety net hospital has threatened to close if the current budget is finalized. Lafayette General, the hospital that operates the charity hospital, sent notices to 800 workers warning them that their jobs are in jeopardy.
Gov. John Bel Edwards has asked lawmakers to end the legislative session early and convene a special session so the Legislature can pass taxes that would fill the budget gap. House and Senate leaders have said they are open to the idea, but haven’t made any specific plans or announcements.
