Recalculating costs: Louisiana lawmakers on Monday added $368 million in federal funding to the health department budget to keep from running out of money for the state’s Medicaid expansion program. The Associated Press reports the program has grown beyond expectations in its first year, with the Louisiana Department of Health enrolling more people than projected in Medicaid expansion since Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards kicked off the program in July 2016. Despite previous complaints from House Republicans about the wisdom of expanding Louisiana’s Medicaid program, the Legislature’s joint budget committee voted to bump up the federal financing for the coverage without objection Monday evening. The added dollars will lift the price tag for the program to about $2.3 billion this budget year. Read more.
Taking over: Lafayette-based Reve Coffee Roasters, which is planning to open its first Baton Rouge location in White Star Market under construction on Government Street, is acquiring The Lab Handcrafted Coffees and Comforts, which is located in Lafayette’s River Ranch development. Ownership of the coffee shop is expected to change hands on June 1. The Lab will be rebranded as the Reve, says Reve Coffee Roasters owner Nate Johnson. White Star Market owner Clark Gaines says the acquisition is a testament to Johnson’s business skills and the quality of the product he offers. Construction is underway on White Star Market, which will be located in the the Square 46 development that’s expected to be completed by late summer.
First things first: Beginning next spring, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette will offer the state’s first master’s degree in informatics. The Louisiana Board of Regents approved the new graduate program in the School of Computing and Informatics during its Monday board meeting. Informatics is applied computer science. Students will learn to design and adapt information systems to solve problems that arise in the workplace and in everyday life. Dr. Azmy S. Ackleh, dean of UL Lafayette’s Ray P. Authement College of Sciences—which includes the School of Computing and Informatics—says the new graduate program is designed to provide advanced education and research in information sciences and information technology. The university already offers an undergraduate degree in informatics.
