Article misjudges salutary LA Medicaid changes

Naysayers resist this truth, but the facts point to Medicaid reductions in Louisiana as a consequence of beneficial policy for all concerned.

 A recent media piece, for some reason, decided to publicize that in 2025 Louisiana saw about 200,000 people drop off Medicaid rolls and wanted to figure out why. Unfortunately, the effort largely was ineffective, as it only cursorily investigated the question but principally because it accepted implicitly a canard.

The article accurately notes that this is part of a trend prior to Republican Pres. Donald Trump assuming office last Jan. 20, but neglects to provide crucial context. The Wuhan coronavirus pandemic provided the excuse for Washington Democrats essentially to suspend eligibility checks for those already enrolled, and nationwide rolls exploded in size including in Louisiana. Eventually, the unwinding of that started and that process mostly was completed in 2024, but with the state’s dragged out further by Democrat former Gov. John Bel Edwards’ stonewalling. As well, the noticeably better economic situation nationally under Trump also contributed to shrinking rolls, encouraging people to switch to other sources of insurance.