Citing President-elect Donald Trump’s recent 60 Minutes interview, Gov. John Bel Edwards tells WGNO-TV he’s not “overly concerned” about how Trump will handle the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, because he appears to be more “more flexible” about the law now than he did during the presidential campaign.
Edwards says Medicaid expansion is working in Louisiana and in dozens of other states.
“It’s gonna be very difficult I think to repeal the Affordable Care Act, including the Medicaid expansion, without providing a suitable substitute,” Edwards says. “We’re going to work with the administration, obviously, because our job is to make sure we’re taking care of the people of Louisiana as best we can—that’s why we expanded Medicaid in the first place.”
Edwards signed an executive order to expand Medicaid in Louisiana on his first full day in office. Approximately 350,000 people in Louisiana have health care insurance under the expansion, Edwards says.
The governor was in New Orleans on Monday to recognize Entergy for launching a five-year, $5 million initiative aimed at creating jobs and job training programs. The first $1 million is being awarded to six programs that Entergy leaders say have “proven track records” and will strengthen the state’s economy.
Of the first grant, Louisiana Economic Development is getting $500,000 to fund manufacturing certifications; Operation Spark will receive $169,000 for its Software Design and Engineering Immersion Course; the Louisiana Construction Education Foundation and Delgado Community College are getting $100,000 each; and the Louisiana chapter of Jobs for America’s Graduates and the Orleans Re-Entry Court will each receive $75,000.
