Louisiana lawmakers may get a fourth opportunity to consider approving $15.4 billion in Medicaid managed-care deals before Gov. John Bel Edwards enacts the contracts through an emergency process.
Edwards’ chief attorney Matthew Block sent a letter Tuesday to House Speaker Taylor Barras and House Appropriations Chairman Cameron Henry saying if they want the Legislature’s joint budget committee to reconsider the contracts at its meeting next week, the administration would participate.
The offer comes a day after 16 Republican state senators asked Attorney General Jeff Landry to weigh in on whether the Democratic governor has the legal authority to use the emergency provisions.
The Edwards administration is relying on a state law that allows for emergency contracting when an imminent threat to public health, welfare or safety exists. Block says the administration feels “we are certainly well within the authority” to use the law for the Medicaid contracts.
