The number of Louisianans enrolled in Medicaid health insurance coverage has declined by nearly 200,000 people during the last 12 months. The joint state-federal program provides health coverage for people with low incomes and disabilities. Gov. Jeff Landry believes the decline is driven by people moving into jobs that provide insurance, but the data doesn’t back that up. The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Tyler Bridges reports:
While nearly 200,000 fewer people receive Medicaid compared to a year ago, Louisiana has only 13,000 more nonfarm jobs over that time, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The state unemployment rate has ticked up from 4.3% to 4.4% over the past year. “The economy is not necessarily explaining this drop in Medicaid,” said Courtney Foster, a senior policy adviser at Invest in Louisiana, a progressive nonprofit in Baton Rouge. “My worry is that people are going without insurance.”
The federal megabill that President Donald Trump signed last July cuts Medicaid by nearly a trillion dollars, and includes new paperwork burdens and eligibility checks that will lead to millions of Americans losing their health care coverage:
Foster, however, fears that the number of people without insurance is rising, but that policymakers haven’t grasped this fact because the latest figures are not up to date. According to KFF, a leading health policy nonprofit based in San Francisco, the most recent numbers are from 2024 and show that Louisiana’s uninsured rate was 7.6%, lower than the national rate of 8.2%, thanks to Edwards instituting the Medicaid expansion.
Few details on replacing teacher stipends
Louisiana teachers unions and education leaders have little information on how Gov. Jeff Landry will replace $2,000 annual stipends that are not funded in the 2026-27 budget. The Louisiana Illuminator’s Julie O’Donoghue explains how the uncertainty is making it hard for school districts to plan for next year:
Another year of teacher and staff stipends would cost the state $198 million, and they don’t know what cuts, if any, other school services might experience when money is moved to cover the pay. “What we are for is transparency and immediate communication so that our schools can prepare for what’s coming,” Caroline Roemer, Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools executive director, said in an interview Friday.
One option is to shift $150 million earmarked for K-12 public school operations to partially replace the teacher stipends:
The legislature also quietly inserted language in one of the budget bills approved last week that would facilitate the transfer of money from the Minimum Foundation Program to educator stipends. The Senate added an amendment to House Bill 313 that shifts any money freed up by the governor cutting the Minimum Foundation Program into a state fund that could be used for teacher stipends. The amendment dictates the transfer could only be done with consent “in writing by two-thirds of elected members of each house of the legislature.”
The governor and legislative leaders are working to find a long-term solution for increasing teacher pay, which could be harder because of recent tax decisions:
Landry and lawmakers are facing a downturn in revenue projections after cutting personal income and business taxes in 2025. It has limited the amount of money they have to spend on government services, including K-12 schools. But Landry said teacher compensation is a priority for him.
A sad day for fair districts
Gov. Jeff Landry has signed into law a new state congressional map that reduces the number of Black-majority districts from two to one. The fiasco began after an April Supreme Court ruling that gutted the federal Voting Rights Act. The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Alyse Pfeil reports that the new, gerrymandered map will face legal challenges from both sides:
Those White voters, known as the “Callais plaintiffs,” sued Louisiana over the previous map adopted in 2024 with two majority-Black districts, arguing the addition of a second Black district was racially discriminatory and unconstitutional. … Meanwhile, Black legislative leaders have also said they are evaluating a lawsuit over the new map. “It intentionally dilutes the representation for Black voters across the state,” said Sen. Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans. “It is a gerrymander. It’s not compact. It’s not contiguous.”
Prioritizing rocket companies over local communities
Communities would be barred from seeking damages from aerospace companies under legislation that is close to becoming law. House Bill 1098 is part of a package of bills aimed at making Louisiana more attractive to aerospace companies. The Louisiana Illuminator’s Wesley Muller reports:
[Rep. Jack] McFarland’s proposal prevents residents from filing lawsuits against aerospace companies that create excessive visual, noise and environmental disturbances that inadvertently damage property or diminish the quality of life in neighboring communities. It gives the companies — along with their owners, employees and contractors — immunity from civil actions arising from trespassing, smoke, odors, sonic booms and other property nuisances. The legislation would also shield companies from liability for any injuries to flight crew members or passengers who choose to fly with them.
The bills come as a major aerospace company is reportedly looking to buy hundreds of square miles of land in south Louisiana for a potential project:
Sen. Patrick Connick, R-Marrero, argued that promoting economic growth and luring out-of-state companies to Louisiana should not come at the expense of the people and businesses who already call Louisiana home. Connick spearheaded the effort to restore much of the bill’s original text. Even so, the measure would still make Louisiana an outlier in the level of special protections given to an industry where launch accidents and large explosions are relatively common, he said. “No other state gives immunity away like we just did,” Connick said in an interview after Thursday’s vote.
The Legislature and Gov. Jeff Landry recently created lucrative tax breaks for billion-dollar rocket companies. The forgone revenue could have been used to give teachers a raise, improve infrastructure or make investments in early childhood education.
Number of the Day
$7,886,093,000 – Projected revenue loss for the 2026 fiscal year due to Louisiana state tax exemptions. (Source: Louisiana Department of Revenue)