Moving up: Aaron Lambert has been named president of Amerigroup Louisiana’s Medicaid health plan. Lambert joined Amerigroup in 2007 and has extensive experience with Medicaid program procurements, according to a press release. He has helped Amerigroup launch new credentialing verification systems, develop school-based health center partnerships and implement telemedicine programs. In his new role, Lambert is responsible for all aspects of the health plan’s operations and for ensuring Medicaid members have access to high quality care. He most recently served as the head of operations for Amerigroup Georgia, where he led core Medicaid efforts and the development of the health plan’s foster care program.
Gone missing: Louisiana auditors looking for $55,000 in missing state-owned fishing equipment say they believe they found many of the items with two former state workers. The Associated Press reports the missing equipment—including coolers, rods and reels, binoculars and spear guns—was bought by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries using money from BP after the Gulf Coast oil spill. The money was supposed to pay for seafood safety testing, but auditors say the equipment couldn’t be located after two former Wildlife and Fisheries employees, Eric Newman and Monique Savoy, left the office in January 2014. The employees, who are married, had items totaling $19,762 that matched descriptions of the missing equipment in their possession or offered for sale online, the audit says. Newman’s lawyer couldn’t be reached Monday for comment. It wasn’t immediately clear if Savoy has an attorney.
Power play: U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has asked Congress to let him prosecute medical marijuana providers, a letter made public Monday has revealed. The Washington Post reports Session asked congressional leaders in the letter to undo federal medical marijuana protections that have been in place since 2014. The protections, known as the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, prohibit the Justice Department from using federal funds to prevent certain states “from implementing their own state laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession or cultivation of medical marijuana.” Sessions says the amendment inhibits the Justice Department’s authority to enforce the Controlled Substances Act. The letter first obtained by Tom Angell of Massroots.com and verified independently by The Washington Post. Louisiana lawmakers have approved medical marijuana and authorized LSU and Southern University to be growers. Read more.
