LRN AM Newscall July 11, 2017

The U.S Senate is back from its July Fourth recess. Don Molino spoke with GOP Senator Bill Cassidy on the prospects of the Senate passing a health care reform bill…

Cut 1 (27) “I’m Don Molino”

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The state’s largest health insurer has a new tool to help its members find  the lowest-cost when it comes to common medical procedures. Emelie Gunn has more…

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LSU Football Coach Ed Orgeron likes his team as it heads into the 2017 season. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 3 (30) “Jeff Palermo”

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The U.S. Senate is waiting on Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to make revisions to proposed legislation that would repeal and replace the nation’s health care law. Republican Bill Cassidy says the initial Senate healthcare plan doesn’t have enough support, so he hopes McConnell uses some of the ideas the senior Senator from Louisiana suggested months ago…

Cut 4  (12) “Obamacare”

Senate Democrats have called on McConnell to work with them on coming up with legislation to improve America’s Health Care system. Cassidy says since there are 52 Republicans in the US Senate, they need to come up with a bill that has the support of some Democrats…

Cut 5  (11)  “$6,000 deductibles”

President Donald Trump is urging Congress to pass a health care bill before they leave for the August recess. Cassidy says if they can’t agree on a complete health care overhaul, federal lawmakers should at least do something about rising premiums…

Cut 6 (07) “later action”

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The Louisiana Department of Health and the Louisiana Workforce Commission will host a series of workforce summits as they seek to hire qualified individuals to work with people with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Executive Management Officer for the Office of Citizens with Developmental Disabilities Tiffany Dickerson says the goal is to become a conduit for healthcare providers.

Cut 7 (10)  “workforce commission”

The first summit is today in New Orleans at the Jefferson Parish East Bank Regional Library from 9 am to 3 pm. Dickerson says there is a high rate of turnover in this industry as employees are often paid minimum wage or slightly above. She says the summit is designed to benefit healthcare providers when it comes to recruiting individuals to work with those with disabilities and the aging population.

Cut 8 (10) “their organization”

Additional summits are scheduled to take place Thursday in Lafayette and Friday in Alexandria. Dickerson says the outcome of the summits is to streamline and improve the hiring practices of providers, bring down onboarding costs and identify training opportunities.

Cut 9 (11)  “with supporting”

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Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana has a new way for its members to make an informed decision when it comes to getting a medical procedure. It’s called Smart Shopper and David Hochheiser (Ho-heiser) says it’s available on the Blue Cross website…

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Hochheiser says for example, if a Blue Cross member is told they need a colonoscopy, SmartShopper, can help the customer see how much it costs at nearby hospital or clinics….

Cut 11 (10) “will be”

Hochheiser says if a customer needs an MRI they can use SmartShopper and they’ll likely notice a wide range in costs for the same medical service. He says this tool will help patients make an informed decision…

Cut 12 (08) “10-thousand dollars”

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LSU Football Coach Ed Orgeron says Quarterback Danny Etling is nearly 100-percent after undergoing back surgery, but he’s not ready to name him the starter for the season opener against BYU. Orgeron says he wants the other Q-Bs on the roster to compete for the job and get an evaluation from new offensive coordinator Matt Canada…

Cut 13 (08) “you like em”

Incoming freshmen Lowell Narcisse, sophomore Justin McMillan, redshirt freshman Lindsey Scott and true freshman Myles Brennan will compete against Etling for starting Q-B. Orgeron says if the season started today, Etling would be the starter. At SEC Media Day, Orgeron was asked about Florida naming the LSU game on October 7th as its homecoming game…

Cut 14 (09) “be a battle”

LSU lost a lot of talent off of last year’s defense. Orgeron says younger have to step up, including former North Caddo star Devin White, who could be a starter at middle linebacker…

Cut 15 (09) “need to do”

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