On the calendar: Louisiana property owners with flood insurance policies whose homes or other structures were damaged during Hurricane Isaac have another 30 days to file claims for their flood losses. Policy owners now have until Feb. 21 to complete their proof of loss. Since Isaac made landfall, the insurance program has paid out more than $416 million on 13,159 claims in Louisiana. FEMA has complete details on the deadline extension and info on filing claims here.
Each small candle: Families of the terminally ill and health care workers are planning a candlelight vigil in Baton Rouge Wednesday to protest Gov. Bobby Jindal’s proposal to shutter the state’s Medicaid hospice program in February. Despite complaints from voters and requests from lawmakers, the Department of Health and Hospitals is continuing with its plan to close the program to new adult recipients Feb. 1. Cutting the program is estimated to save about $1.1 million in state funding this year and $3.1 million in state funding for the 2013-14 budget year, according to DHH. The full story can be found here.
Market forces: Louisiana is poised to sell $249 million in highway bonds today, with transportation debt beating top-rated municipal securities in 10 of the last 13 years, Bloomberg reports. The offering will fund restoration and improvement of about 690 miles of roads, bond documents say. The total return for transportation securities has exceeded that for the $3.7 trillion muni market in all but three years since 2000, according to Standard & Poor’s index data. In 2012, the segment returned 15.2%, including price change and interest, against 14.3% for the broader index. Read the full story here.
