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W e d n e s d ay, M ay 14, 2025
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Medicaid bill could affect many in La.
Congress eyes billions in cuts, removal of enrollees BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer
WASHINGTON — The future of Medicaid for the next decade — who gets tossed off its rolls and how much more Louisiana taxpayers will have to pay — is being decided this week by a U.S. House committee charged with lowering the costs of health care for low-income
Americans. The Republican majority on the House Energy and Commerce Committee began cobbling together its bill Tuesday afternoon and warned members that they could be working all night and through much of Wednesday before the legislation is ready. Given the slim GOP majority in the House, two of the more contro-
versial proposals were sidelined: how much could be spent on each Medicaid patient and requiring the states to pay more under the federal match rate. But the plan under consideration, which could be revised, contains policy changes that the bipartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates could cut $715 billion from Medicaid. Roughly 8.5 million
beneficiaries, about 10% of Medicaid’s rolls, would be removed and upward of 13.7 million low-income Americans would be left without health care coverage by 2034, the budget office stated. It’s not yet clear precisely what affect the changes would have on Louisiana, which has 1.6 million enrolled in Medicaid, about a third of the state’s population. When all the various match rates for all the different programs are averaged, Louisiana is responsible for about
ä See MEDICAID, page 5A
Residents want input on new jail
WATER WOES
Rural areas of Louisiana dealing with systems that some fear are ‘ticking time bombs’
30% of the total costs. Many health care leaders in the state said they wanted to see the final proposal before commenting on the impact it would have here. Republicans argue they are reining in a program that has grown too expensive. “Medicaid was created to protect health care for Americans who otherwise could not support themselves. The Democrats expanded
The small town of Monterey in Concordia Parish saw its water system grade from the Louisiana Department of Health drop from an ‘A’ to a ‘C’ this year.
Proposed location in north Lafayette raises concerns
BY CLAIRE TAYLOR
Staff writer
breaking down. Chemicals needed to purify the water are creating brown, murky water. Treatment centers and pumps are faltering. Some small towns are hanging on by a thread, nervous that one well breakdown could threaten their ability to supply residents with water. The state got a windfall of federal funds during the pandemic to address many of the problems plaguing the systems. And the money, routed through the state’s Water Sector Program, has been widely touted for repairing some of the most
Nearly 40 residents gathered Monday in north Lafayette to discuss their concerns over the lack of information on plans for a new jail and the need for community input before decisions are made. “We know there are people that are not good in our community that need to be incarcerated,” said event organizer and former CityParish Council member Chris Williams, of United Ballot. “We just want to be involved in the dialogue.” The decision by the previous city-parish administration to build a new jail on Willow Street was essentially made by a handful of officials with no community input, he said. Lafayette Parish Mayor-President Monique Boulet, who took office in January 2024, halted a proposed public-private partnership plan by previous Mayor-President Josh Guillory to build a new jail on Willow Street near a transitional facility operated by the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office. Many in north Lafayette oppose that location because of its proximity to schools and residences. The Parish Council in 2023 allocated money to buy land in the 1800 block of West Willow Street, between North Pat Street and Hebert Road, for the jail. Guillory had brokered a deal for a private company to build the jail and rent it to the parish. The parish by law is required to provide a jail. The Lafayette Parish Correctional Center in downtown Lafayette is not large enough and is in need of repairs, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Officials have long touted the economic benefits
ä See WATER, page 5A
ä See JAIL, page 5A
STAFF PHOTOS By BRETT DUKE
Monterey resident Jennifer Barrington and her husband Todd say they can’t cook with the tap water because it’s too salty, and it destroyed two hot water heaters over the span of about two years. BY SAM KARLIN
tap water because it’s too salty, and it destroyed two of her hot water heaters over the span of about two years, she said. “You can’t even use it for ice,” she said. The water started showing signs of “It’s been getting worse.” trouble a couple of years ago. Like many small communities around It smelled like rotten eggs or bleach. It sometimes came out of the tap brown and the state, Monterey is dealing with a probmurky. lem that elected officials have long known In the small town of Monterey along was coming. Louisiana’s eastern border, about 30 miles Louisiana’s aging water systems are southwest of Natchez, Mississippi, Jenni- decaying. Hundreds of water systems around fer Barrington looked for ways to cope. Barrington, 55, said it got bad enough the state are in dire need of fixes. Many that she bought an expensive water fil- are decades old, with years of deferred ter for her home. She can’t cook with the maintenance. Cast-iron or clay pipes are
Staff writer
Lawmakers weigh seed oil labeling law BY EMILY WOODRUFF
Kennedy Jr. and the “Make America Healthy Again” movement that the cooking Louisiana lawmakers are oils are harmful. In a hearing two weeks ago considering a bill that would require restaurants to dis- before the Senate Health close their use of seed oils, and Welfare Committee, a a move aligned with claims pediatrician called seed oils by Health and Human Ser- “toxic.” A wellness coach lavices Secretary Robert F. beled them “inflammatory.”
Staff writer
WEATHER HIGH 85 LOW 71 PAGE 6B
Sen. Patrick McMath, RCovington, who authored the bill, also claimed that certain ingredients in seed oils, most commonly referred to as vegetable oils, cause “chronic inflammation, which causes chronic disease.” But as Sen. Jay Luneau,
D-Alexandria, pointed out in the meeting, “we like to fry stuff in Louisiana.” Seed oils — including canola, rapeseed, corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, rice bran, safflower and soybean — have been staples in Louisiana
Sen. Patrick McMath, R-Covington, is sponsoring a bill requiring restaurants to disclose the use of seed oils. STAFF FILE PHOTO
ä See OIL, page 4A
Business ...................10C Commentary ................5B Nation-World ................2A Classified .....................2B Living............................5C Opinion ........................4B Comics-Puzzles .....7C-9C Metro ...........................1B Sports ..........................1C
100TH yEAR, NO. 318