Fixing the problem: State Health and Hospitals Secretary Kathy Kliebert says her agency thinks it has found a way to fix oversight problems with a program that provides non-emergency medical transportation to Medicaid recipients, a service the state spends $18 million annually to fund, the Associated Press reports. But legislative audits have repeatedly listed lax oversight that could result in improper services. Kliebert told the Legislative Audit Advisory Council Thursday that the five private insurance companies managing the health care of more than one million Medicaid recipients have taken over the medical transportation program. Medicaid staff, she says, will monitor the insurance companies’ efforts. The program provides Medicaid recipients with transportation to and from doctors’ offices, outpatient clinics and other medical service providers.
Show me the money: New Orleans-based Entergy Corp. has closed the sale of its 583-megawatt Rhode Island State Energy Center in Johnston, Rhode Island, to Carlyle Power Partners for about $490 million, according to a news release. The entities agreed in October to the sale of the natural gas-fired plant. Entergy Wholesale Commodities, on behalf of Entergy Corp. bought the plant in December 2011 for $346 million. Money from the sale will be put towards other projects. The Rhode Island center “has been a good investment for us, and its sale is consistent with our strategy for Entergy Wholesale Commodities—to be disciplined about reducing risk and freeing up financial resources for other opportunities,” Entergy Chairman and CEO Leo Denault says in a prepared statement. Entergy delivers power to 2.8 million customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
No injuries reported: A fire broke out in the ExxonMobil refinery along the Mississippi River this morning, but no injuries were reported and the fire has been extinguished. The company says in a statement that the fire was contained by ExxonMobil firefighters to the refinery and extinguished by 6:45 a.m. The statement does not say what caused the fire or if a cause has yet been determined. Curt Monte, a spokesman with the Baton Rouge Fire Department, says Baton Rouge firefighters responded to the call at about 4 a.m. and a hazardous materials unit was dispatched. Firefighters stayed outside the fence surrounding the complex where they monitored air quality, getting no readings outside normal ranges. Monte says though the ExxonMobil plant is outside city limits, the agency has a mutual aid agreement with the company to respond to emergencies and be on standby in case help is needed.
