Louisiana’s Medicaid program provides life-sustaining health coverage to millions of people with low incomes and essential financial protection from debilitating medical expenses. The program was critical to helping Louisiana families through the health and financial challenges brought by the Covid-19 pandemic.
To better understand how Medicaid impacts people’s lives, LBP conducted in-depth interviews with people enrolled in the program from across Louisiana during the Covid-19 pandemic. The interviews are compiled in our new report, Medicaid Works. Let’s Keep it Strong.
“Medicaid is an example of how a social safety-net program creates deep, lasting and beneficial impacts for both the people enrolled in the program and the communities where they live,” said Charlotte Willcox, who led the research. “In the state with the highest poverty rate in the nation, Medicaid coverage means people with low incomes don’t have to choose between paying rent and getting the medical care they need.”
Interviewees emphasized that Medicaid provides financial stability while they work to meet other basic needs and strive to reach their goals. Rita, a mother of eight children from Shreveport, described Medicaid as a “blessing” and “a lifesaver” for her and her family.
“Medicaid has been truly a blessing for me and my family because I am low-income and a single parent,” she said. “It has taken the burden off of just wondering if my child needed to go to the hospital, or needed dental work, or just got sick and needed to be seen.”
LBP is telling these stories in part because hundreds of thousands of Louisianans’ Medicaid coverage is at risk as Covid-era program flexibilities come to an end in April 2023.
Click here to read more stories about the positive impacts of Medicaid from LBP’s new report, Medicaid Works. Let’s Keep it Strong.
