Health Care
Senator Landrieu has a strong history of supporting Louisiana’s patients, doctors, and health providers. She understands how important it is to ensure that every Louisianian has access to quality, affordable health care, while also taking into account the need to reduce our nation’s health care spending over the long term.
Health Reform
On March 23, 2010, the President signed into law the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Senator Landrieu supported this historic legislation because it achieves the goals she laid out at the beginning of the debate:
- It stabilizes costs and expands affordable health care choices for families and small businesses in Louisiana and throughout the country.
- It expands coverage and increases choice and competition for thousands of Louisianians.
- Most importantly, this law makes private health insurance more affordable and accessible without including a government-run option.
The Congressional Budget Office, which is non-partisan and so does not represent either Democrats or Republicans, analyzed the law and determined that it will lower or stabilize insurance premiums, cover 30 million Americans who are currently uninsured, and reduce the U.S. budget deficit by $210 billion over the next 10 years.
Learn more about provisions of the law and which ones have taken effect.
Ensuring that Louisiana gets its Fair Share of Medicaid Funds
Senator Landrieu successfully fought to secure approximately $560 million in federal Medicaid money for Louisiana for fiscal year 2013, in addition to the millions of dollars she secured for fiscal years 2011 and 2012.
This money is part of the Disaster-Recovery FMAP adjustment, which Sen. Landrieu secured in the Affordable Care Act, and it is a significant boost that helps Louisiana provide basic health care services to our most vulnerable citizens in a fiscally-responsible manner. Without this adjustment, over one million residents of Louisiana would have seen a reduction in health care services and access to care.
After major disasters (such as hurricanes Katrina and Rita), recovery aid can temporarily make state income appear higher than it is, thus making the state entitled to less federal funding for the Medicaid program. Senator Landrieu’s provision in the Affordable Care Act fixed this problem so that Louisiana—and other states hit hard by disasters—receives the money it deserves.
Community Health Centers
As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Landrieu plays a key role in funding important health care programs. In FY 2012, Sen. Landrieu helped secure$2.78 billion for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC). FQHCs are non-profit, community-directed providers that remove common barriers to care by serving communities that otherwise confront financial, geographic, and other barriers. They provide comprehensive care to their patients and have become a vital component of the health system throughout the entire state.
