Expansion of Louisiana’s Medicaid system that took effect in July 2016 has improved access to health care, according to a Tulane University study.
Expanding Medicaid coverage allowed all adults who earned up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level to enroll in the program. Between July 2016 and December 2018, more than 475,000 people across the state have enrolled, and the number of uninsured in the state has dropped by more than 50 percent.
The study, released in the past month, used data from the Louisiana Medicaid Data Warehouse, a state database of claims, and a nationwide survey of health behaviors and care known as the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
The study showed that the number of Medicaid enrollees who didn’t take medication as prescribed dropped by two thirds, and the number of people unable to receive care dropped by more than half.
The study also found a decline in the number of people who couldn’t see a doctor due to cost and the number of their emergency room visits.
“More people can afford their medications and are seeing a regular doctor rather than making costly visits to the emergency room. Not only does this improve health outcomes for our most vulnerable citizens, it reduces costs and improves value in our state’s health care system,” state Health Department Secretary Rebekah Gee said.
In Terrebonne Parish, data showed that the average number of miles traveled to primary care facilities has declined by about a half mile since the expansion. Lafourche Parish saw about a two-mile decrease.
The number of providers for Medicaid enrollees has increased by over 30 in Terrebonne and Lafourche, according to the study.
In a news release, Gov. John Bel Edwards noted that an economic impact study conducted by Louisiana State University last year suggested the expansion had leveraged federal money into about $3.57 billion of economic activity.
“We have further evidence that Medicaid expansion is critical for the health of Louisiana, cutting the uninsured rate in half. We cannot go back,” Edwards said.
Staff Writer Halle Parker can be reached at hparker@houmatoday.com or 857-2204. Follow her on Twitter, @_thehalparker.