Democratic legislators plan to resist any efforts from their Republican colleagues to reduce the number of Black-majority congressional districts in the state, according to party leaders. The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Alyse Pfeil reports on the bitter redistricting fight that lies ahead:
Democrats said they would refuse discussions on any map that has less than two majority-Black districts and have noted that Louisiana’s population is now roughly one-third Black. “We are not in favor of anything other than a 4-2 map. If you bring us something that has less than two African-American representatives, we are not in favor,” said Rep. Edmond Jordan, D-Baton Rouge and chair of Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus.
It’s unclear if the Legislature’s GOP supermajority will eliminate one or both of the Black-majority districts:
[Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee Chair Rep. Caleb] Kleinpeter said Louisiana’s Republican members of Congress “have serious concerns” about whether they could easily hold onto their districts under a map that has six GOP districts. “They might have issues running for reelection,” he said. “We can’t jeopardize the leadership in Congress with changing maps.” Henry echoed that concern. “A 6-0 map does not guarantee six Republicans,” he said. “We’re working on the numbers.”
Hearings on the proposed maps are scheduled for Friday, and members of the public are encouraged to attend and voice their opinions.
Distressed hospitals look to states for help
Many hospitals across the country that serve low-income patients are struggling to keep their doors open. The federal tax and budget megabill, which will cut Medicaid by nearly a trillion dollars over the next decade, will worsen the financial situation of these vulnerable hospitals. Bernard J. Wolfson of KFF Health News explains:
[The megabill] could contribute to an increase of more than 14 million in the number of uninsured people, many of whom will go to already crowded emergency rooms to get care they can’t pay for. The law does include a special fund to boost rural healthcare, totaling $50 billion over five years. But that’s far less than the $137 billion it is expected to cut from rural health spending over the next decade. And the rural health fund does little or nothing to help the numerous urban hospitals …
Cutting services will worsen health outcomes, but not solve the financial issues:
“Even if we cut services that our community needs — maternity care, behavioral healthcare, diabetes management — it wouldn’t make a significant dent in the gap we’re facing,” said Elaine Batchlor, the CEO of MLK Community Healthcare. ”Many of those same people would still come to us through our emergency department, only they’d be in worse shape and might need more expensive care.”
Hospitals are looking to state and local governments for help:
In California, Assembly member Esmeralda Soria, a Democrat representing Fresno, is pushing legislation to expand a 2023 “distressed hospital loan fund” that allocated nearly $300 million in zero-interest loans to 16 hospitals in the state, including $14 million to MLK. The state would pony up another $300 million under Soria’s bill. … . A bill in Pennsylvania would create a $100 million “distressed hospital grant” program. And a funding bill for the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services contains a provision to create an $85 million loan program for troubled hospitals.
Rule change targets disabled adults who live with families
The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program provides monthly payments to millions of American adults and children with disabilities – a critical financial support for families that struggle to make ends meet. Roughly 400,000 of these recipients could have their benefits reduced – or eliminated entirely – under a rule change under consideration by the Trump administration. ProPublica’s Eli Hager reports:
Essentially, under a long-standing federal policy that was updated during the Biden administration, if a household has already demonstrated its poverty via SNAP or other public assistance programs’ own extensive income-reporting requirements, then the family is officially deemed unable to financially support a disabled loved one living at home. (The typical SNAP household that is also supporting a person who receives SSI has an annual total income of just $17,000, according to the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.) The Trump rule will undo this approach.
The rule change, if enacted, would have real-life consequences for families who are just trying to get by and care for their loved ones:
We talked to a young couple struggling to support not just their kids but also a parent with Alzheimer’s. We heard from a mother, Opal Foster, whose 18-year-old son has Down syndrome and lives at home as he strives to become a chef. …. All of these people could have their SSI benefits cut because they live with family, even though disability advocates, evangelicals and budget experts agree that it’s more humane and less expensive for adults with disabilities to live at home rather than in institutional facilities.
The best and worst of Louisiana’s ‘water report card’
Nearly 7 in 10 community public water systems in Louisiana received an A rating, according to the Louisiana Department of Health’s annual drinking water report card. The Louisiana Illuminator’s Elise Plunk has the highlights:
Fifteen received a perfect score of 100, with an additional 10 maximum bonus points for having programs or training to try and improve their water quality. Those systems were spread across seven parishes, the highest number of which were concentrated in St. Tammany parish. Eight parishes had straight As, meaning all of their water systems received a score of 90 or above. East Baton Rouge and West Baton Rouge parishes had the most with five each, with East Baton Rouge providing the largest population with A-rated water at around 600,000 people.
And lowlights:
On the other end, 58 systems, or around 6%, were given Fs. This is close to the same failure rate in 2024, when 63 water systems out of the 940 evaluated earned the lowest marks. … The largest system with the worst grade was the F given to the City of Shreveport, serving around 192,000 people. … Union Parish has the highest percentage of failing water systems, with half of its 20 providers getting an F.
Number of the Day
$365 – Airfare for the average domestic round-trip economy ticket, up 26% since January. (Source: Kayak)