Hospitals are now required to post a list of prices for their services on their website. Matt Doyle has more.
Cut 1 (30) “I’m Matt Doyle”
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The Associated Press reports 22 state lawmakers left before finishing their term over the last three years. Why such a high turnover rate? Jeff Palermo has more…
Cut 2 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”
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Hospitals are now required to put a master price list online for all of their services. It’s a mandate from the 2010 Affordable Care Act that aims to get consumers more involved in their healthcare, but Louisiana Hospital Association President Paul Salles cautions if you have insurance, those prices won’t be your final bill.
Cut 3 (11) “…rules.”
Hospitals are allowed to put prices in context, such as providing the average out of pocket expense to a Medicare patient for a certain treatment.
So, if you are insured, the best way to find out what a treatment, surgery, or other service will cost, is to pick up your phone, and…
Cut 4 (08) “situation.″
The prices are also referred to as “charges”, or “standard charges”.
Unfortunately a brief survey of Louisiana hospitals indicated that many have either not posted those prices on their primary hospital website, have dead links to price charts, or have made them very difficult to access. So, if you’re interested in seeing what the real cost of that x-ray is, you may not have an easy time doing it…
Cut 5 (09) “…available.”
The price lists that are available come in excel spreadsheets.
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Gasoline prices continue to fall. According to Triple-A, the statewide average for a gallon of regular gasoline is a $1.95. That’s about 20-cents cheaper than a month ago. Triple-A fuel analyst Don Redman says the price at the pump should continue to fall as demand for gasoline is low in January compared to other months
Cut 6 (08) “…$1.90”
Redman says gas prices should remain below two-dollars until March, when refineries begin the switch to summer grade gasoline. He says until then, the supply of gasoline on the market is strong
Cut 7 (06) “…the country”
Low gas prices are a double edge sword for Louisiana. Low oil prices means less revenue for state government. Redman says the current cost for a barrel of crude oil is 50-dollars and he says if that keeps going down it can cause real problems
Cut 8 (10) “…mineral oil”
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The Louisiana Legislature is seeing a high turnover rate as the AP reports 22 state lawmakers, roughly 15%, have left office without completing their terms since January 2016. Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says he believes the reason behind the exodus is that the Louisiana Legislature is not the glory place it used to be.
Cut 9 (10) “…with the Governor.″
The state has held ten legislative sessions in three years, including seven special sessions called by Governor John Bel Edwards. Pinsonat says between the workload, the time away from jobs and families, and the lack of retirement and medical benefits, it’s just not as an attractive position as it once was.
Cut 10 (12) “…statewide elected official”
Pinsonat says he doesn’t foresee the trend being reversed, as there are many more attractive jobs in government worth pursuing, citing the public’s view of elected officials in the legislature.
Cut 11 (12) “…in politics”
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The new 116th Congress begins tomorrow, and they do so in the shadow of a partial federal government shutdown. Republicans and Democrats are divided over border security funding. President Donald Trump is seeking five-billion dollars to build a wall between Mexico and the US. Louisiana Congressman Mike Johnson says there are some in Congress who do not want to give President Trump a win.
Cut 12 (06) “…of the people.”
Johnson says the partisanship is a sad trend, adding the divisiveness is among the worst in since the Civil War. But he believes the GOP can play defense against the left, and work on the offense plans as well in terms of how they are going to move legislation.
Cut 13 (09) “…we always have.”
Johnson says his first issue he’d like to tackle is problems a broken asylum system in the US, as it has resulted in the system being flooded.
Cut 14 (06) “…can fix that.”
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