Office of GovernorJohn Bel Edwards
On July 1, Louisiana marked five years since expanding Medicaid coverage for the hard-working poor across our state. To date, more than 600,000 citizens are benefitting from access to quality healthcare that many otherwise have never been able to afford. Gov. John Bel Edwards first adopted Medicaid expansion in 2016 as his first official act as governor, making Louisiana the first state in the Deep South to participate. Since then it has provided preventive care as well as life-saving diagnosis and treatment for a multitude of serious diseases. This momentous expansion of healthcare coverage has dramatically changed the landscape for vulnerable communities and the healthcare sector for the better, and it has provided a critical safety net during the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic.