Governor John Bel Edwards announces enrollment for Louisiana’s expanded Medicaid program will begin June 1st. Don Molino has more…
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Talk of uncommitted delegates choosing Ted Cruz instead of Donald Trump for president is not true according to one of the members who said he has yet to make up his mind. Michelle Southern reports…:
CUT 2 (30) “I’m Michelle Southern”
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Governor John Bel Edwards announces enrollment for the state’s expanded Medicaid program will begin June 1st. Edwards told the Senate Health and Welfare Committee that expanding Medicaid will benefit the state greatly by cutting healthcare costs and improving health outcomes. He says the expansion will also save the state much-needed dollars in critical budget times.
Edwards says these savings will help reduce cuts to healthcare and allow the state to reinvest money into TOPS and higher education. He says this expansion will also reduce the amount the state pays for uninsured patients in Louisiana.
Edwards says this expansion will get health coverage to working-class people, like workers in food service, tourism and construction. He says over 300-thousand Louisiana residents will be eligible for enrollment June 1st and he’ll spend the next few weeks raising awareness about Medicaid expansion.
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Talk of uncommitted delegates choosing Ted Cruz instead of Donald Trump for president is not true according to one of the members who said he has yet to make up his mind. Trump is trying to decry the system because even though he won the primary here, Cruz could end up with more delegates. Luke Letlow, a Marco Rubio delegate from north Louisiana, says he is 100% unbound at the moment..:
Newspaper reports indicated that Louisiana’s five state party leaders going to the Republican convention, and the five delegates who were formerly pledged to Rubio, were planning to support Cruz. But Letlow, who is also Chief of Staff for Congressman Ralph Abraham, says he and three other delegates got together and agreed to stay uncommitted until the convention…:
Letlow says he’s been approached by both the Trump and Cruz campaigns since Rubio dropped out. He says he’s very conflicted about which candidate he will ultimately pledge his support, but they both have their strengths and weaknesses…:
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Dozens of dead sea turtles are washing up along the Gulf Coast and biologists are not sure why. Director of the Institute of Marine Mammal Studies, Moby Solangi says it’s a big concern because the Kemps Ridley sea turtles that are stranding early in the season are the most endangered sea turtles in the world.
Solangi says there’s also an increase in the number of dolphins dying earlier this year. He says the animal deaths could be linked to red tide, which is caused by toxins released by algae in the water.
Solangi says the turtles could also be suffering from toxins left over from oil spills, as well as chemicals dumped into the Mississippi River from agriculture, industrial and sewage waste. He says they are doing what they can to rehabilitate the turtles, and other animals, that are infected by the toxins.
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Governor John Bel Edwards will be interviewed today for an appearance on the HBO series “Vice” to discuss the future of higher education. The governor’s press secretary, Shauna Sanford, says this episode of the 30 minute news documentary will highlight college affordability.
The air date for the episode is still unknown, but the governor’s interview will take place this afternoon. Sanford says the governor will address the problems facing universities, as well as the plans to remedy those issues.
Sanford says currently Louisiana students are paying the bulk of the cost for their education. She says Governor Edwards wants to ensure that students are able to pursue their education in the state by reducing those costs.