Back on the table: Louisiana lawmakers are again considering proposals to expand the state’s Medicaid program to provide government-funded health insurance to the working poor. The House and Senate health committees have scheduled hearings today on the coverage expansion legislation. Both panels have rejected the idea in previous years amid strong opposition to Medicaid expansion and the federal health care overhaul from Gov. Bobby Jindal and other Republican leaders. But supporters of the expansion hope the state’s dire financial troubles and the offer of billions of federal health care dollars could send more votes their way.
Mixed results: Amedisys Inc. has reported a first-quarter loss of $35 million, or $1.07 per share, mainly as the result of a $75.2 million asset impairment charge. However, the Baton Rouge-based home nursing firm and hospice company reported improvements in key performance indicators for same-store locations, or those that were operating one year ago. For those location, Medicare revenue increased by 2%, non-Medicare revenue by 7% and hospice admissions by 7%. Average daily patient census grew by 1%. “With these strong first-quarter results, Amedisys continues its upward trajectory,” says company President and CEO Paul Kusserow. Read the full earnings report here.
A better way: Two researchers from the LSU AgCenter may have a solution to cleaning up oil spills. Coastal ecology professor Andy Nyman and fish physiologist Christopher Green are working together to study a compound to clean up the remaining oil pollution from the Deepwater Horizon explosion and undo the damage caused by Corexit, a chemical used by BP to disperse the oil that had negative effects on marine life. To read more about the scientists’ proposed solution click here.
