Pick it up: If you ask State Parks Director Robert Barham which state is the trashiest in the nation, he’ll tell you Louisiana—at least that’s what he said during a budget hearing at the State Capitol this week. As The USA Today Network of Louisiana reports, Barham told state legislators a new attitude about littering must be instilled in the new generation. “We have to have a mindset change in Louisiana that it’s not acceptable to trash our beautiful state,” he said, calling Louisianans “the worst litter bugs in the nation.” “We should hang our heads in shame when Arkansas and Mississippi are cleaner than Louisiana,” he said. Read the full story.
Rejected again: A federal appeals court Wednesday dealt another defeat to a Louisiana flood board’s effort to make oil and gas companies pay for damage to coastal wetlands that help protect New Orleans from hurricanes. The Associated Press reports the lawsuit by the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East sought to hold close to 90 companies accountable for billions of dollars’ worth of damage blamed on coastal drilling activity. But a district judge dismissed the suit in 2015, and the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that decision in March. On Wednesday, the appeals court rejected a request for a rehearing. Attorneys for the flood board declined immediate comment Wednesday evening when asked whether they might take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Read more.
Footing the bill: Last year, the Henry County Health Center in Iowa started providing patients with a cost estimate along with presurgery medical advice. As Reuters reports, the 25-bed rural hospital implemented the protocol because of mounting unpaid bills from insured patients, a group that had previously not raised red flags. Henry County is one of hundreds of U.S. hospitals trying to cope with an unexpected consequence of the Affordable Care Act of 2010: Millions more Americans have health insurance, but it requires them to spend thousands of dollars before their insurer kicks in a dime. Since U.S. hospitals do not want to end up footing the bill, they are now experimenting with pre-payment strategies for patients, with a growing number requiring payment before scheduled care and offering no-interest loans. Read the full story.
Editor’s note: The offices of Business Report will be closed on Friday, April 14, in observance of Good Friday and Daily Report will not be published. It will return on Monday, April 17. Have a safe and happy holiday.
