Medicaid expansion enrollment is far surpassing the goals set by the Louisiana Department of Health. Michelle Southern has more…
CUT 1 (30) “I’m Michelle Southern”
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NOAA has released an updated Atlantic hurricane season outlook, and the storm chance has risen. Emelie Gunn has more…
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Enrollment in the expanded Medicaid program is exceeding the goals set by the Louisiana Department of Health extremely fast. LDH Secretary Dr. Rebekah Gee says they hope to enroll 375-thousand people by next June. She says the state has reached 73% of its enrollment goal in less than 50 days, and well surpassed the goal they had set for this July as well.
Gee says Louisiana ranks dead last in health outcomes in the country, which she says is no surprise since until recently one in four adults did not have health insurance. She says before expanding Medicaid these people did not have access to preventative healthcare, and she hopes Medicaid expansion leads to better health outcomes in Louisiana.
Gee says people can still enroll at healthy.la.gov. She says improving health outcomes benefits the state in many ways because healthy people make for better workers and happier citizens.
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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has released an updated Atlantic hurricane outlook, predicting this season is still expected to be the strongest since 2012. NOAA’s Lead Season Hurricane Forecaster Dr. Gerry Bell says it will be stronger than what they first predicted in May. And there is a now a 70% chance that..:
The initial outlook called for 10-16 named storms, 4 to 8 hurricanes, and 1-4 major hurricanes. Bell says there are several different factors leading to a more active season than first predicted…
Bell says there is a lot of activity ahead for this season. He says we’re entering peak hurricane season so it’s time to prepare.
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The Department of Children and Family Services is launching an initiative to improve foster care by redefining the role of caregivers. DCFS Secretary Marketa Garner Walters says Louisiana has strong confidentiality laws, but we often misinterpret who we need to be confidential with. She says the Quality Parenting Initiative is about having everybody on the same page.
Walters says our children deserve the best that we can give them, and she says we don’t always do that when they’re in the child welfare system. She says she hopes this will allow foster kids to get the love and support they need.
Walters says moving foster kids from one home to another can be traumatizing to that child. She hopes this QPI will help DCFS reduce the number of placement changes and keep more siblings together.
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The Saints take on the New England Patriots tonight in their first preseason game. The Who Dat Nation is eager to see how the team is looking on both defense and offense. One fan says he’s somewhat confident in the team but wants to see how the guys are shaping up…
The game kicks off at 6:30 central time in Gillette Stadium. Another member of the Who Dat Nation hopes the guys look in shape and are able to hustle when they get out on the field tonight.
One fan in anxious to see how the rookies perform tonight. But he hopes to see a lot of effort from all the players tonight.
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Crews responded to the scene of a fire and explosion at the Motiva (Mo-Tee-Va) Oil Refinery in St. James Parish this morning near the Sunshine Bridge. Flames could be seen for miles from the Convent facility. Jywanna Octave with the St. James Office of Emergency Preparedness says two fire departments responded…:
The refinery produces reformulated and conventional gasoline, primarily for the southeastern United States. It is not known yet what caused the fire, but forecasters say there was lightning in the area at the time, around 10:50am. Octave says it was a scary situation, but it appears all workers were able to safely evacuate…: