The newly elected Democratic governor of Louisiana officially accepted Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion, reversing a decision by his predecessor.
John Bel Edwards tweeted Tuesday that he has signed an executive order amid “lots of cheers in the room.” Expanding the program will make federally run health insurance available to about 300,000 low-income Louisianans.
Former Gov. Bobby Jindal, who dropped out of the GOP presidential contest in the fall, had refused Medicaid expansion, which is a big part of President Obama’s healthcare law. Edwards’ move makes Louisiana the 32nd state in the U.S. to accept that part of the healthcare law.
After calling Medicaid expansion one of his biggest priorities in office, Edwards signed the executive order on his first full day in office, saying he wants to have the government-issued insurance cards in citizens’ hands by July 1. It’s not clear if the Republican-led legislature will try to block him.
