Hear them roar: The LSU Alumni Association is pressing the leading candidates to be Louisiana’s next governor on their commitment to supporting LSU and higher education in the state. The association says it sent six detailed questions to the offices of Democrat John Bel Edwards and Republicans Scott Angelle, Jay Dardenne and David Vitter on Tuesday. The candidates have been asked to respond by Oct. 7, and the alumni association says responses will be published in full via its Tiger Advocates group.
Motion by motion: A federal judge says an antitrust lawsuit can go to trial against the regional competitor of LSU’s Shreveport hospital. As The Shreveport Times reports, Willis-Knighton Health System had asked District Judge Elizabeth Foote to throw out claims made by the foundation which runs LSU’s Shreveport and Monroe hospitals. The Biomedical Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana—which has had its contract with LSU terminated and is being sued by the university—claims Willis-Knighton is trying to take its paying patients and university-affiliated doctors. Foote has denied Willis-Knighton’s motion to dismiss the suit. Read the full story.
By the numbers: After hemorrhaging cash for months, Louisiana’s health insurance program for state workers, public school employees and retirees is back on solid footing. The Associated Press reports the financial improvement, however, came only after Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration lessened benefits and raised costs on many workers. An update released this week from the Legislative Fiscal Office on the financial health of the Office of Group Benefits shows new health insurance plans that took effect March 1 have lessened the draining of the agency’s reserve fund and increased revenue. The fiscal office says if no changes had been made, the insurance program’s reserve fund likely would have dwindled to below $50 million by June 30. Instead, the balance was estimated to be around $122 million. A lawsuit on the insurance program changes is still pending.
