Inside Report: Medicaid issue sparks political sparring

It started out as a telephone conference call to tout a survey on the economic benefits to Louisiana if Gov. Bobby Jindal agreed to embrace the Medicaid expansion in the federal health-care revamp.

But by day’s end, the point of the call got drowned out by the politics.

The report released by Families USA and the Louisiana Consumer Healthcare Coalition said that the expansion would benefit 421,000 people and bring $1.1 billion annually into the state for health care. The new dollars would result in the creation of 15,600 new jobs and $1.8 billion in new economic activity, according to the analysis.

“If Gov. Jindal continues to refuse federal funds for Medicaid expansion he is committing fiscal malpractice,” said Ron Pollack, executive director of Washington, D.C.,-based Families USA.

“If we accept funds for Medicaid expansion it will benefit every local economy in Louisiana ... benefit every sector of the state,” said Louisiana’s senior U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., another call participant.

While Pollack got in a jab at Jindal, Landrieu held back until the first question from a reporter.

Had Landrieu spoken personally to the governor about accepting the Medicaid expansion?

Landrieu said she had urged the Republican governor to embrace the change through correspondence and public comments. “If I thought a personal conversation would have any effect, I would have done so a year ago,” Landrieu said. “He just seems to be adamant about putting his political future ahead of the economic interests of the people of Louisiana.”

And so started a political tit-for-tat that stretched from midmorning into the night between the state’s top Democrat, who is up for re-election in 2014, and the GOP governor with an affinity for the national limelight.

First there came calls to reporters from Jindal’s political operative Timmy Teepell, who’s with the national political strategy firm of OnMessage Inc., in Washington, D.C.

Teepell claimed the attack on Jindal came because Landrieu was miffed at the governor calling out President Barack Obama for using “scare tactics” on federal budget cuts going into effect Friday and at the governor suggesting the federal health revamp be put on hold.

Then, Jindal’s office released a statement that started with an attack on Landrieu.

“Sen. Landrieu voted to cut Louisiana’s Medicaid program by over a billion dollars and now she’s worried about Louisiana families? Sounds like she’s gearing up for another campaign,” Jindal said in the statement.

Soon after, Jindal’s health chief, Bruce Greenstein, scheduled a telephone conference call for more rebuttal.

Enter Landrieu, who issued “Fact Check: Setting Straight Gov. Jindal’s False and Fictitious Medicaid Expansion Claims” — reminiscent of a Jindal tactic to rebut published reports and statements with which the governor disagrees.

Among Landrieu’s five points — it’s a fact that Landrieu “championed” at Jindal’s request legislation that led to Louisiana getting more than $1.2 billion in Medicaid funds after they were threatened, the missive said. Last year’s Medicaid cut — included in a federal transportation bill compromise — was reduced because of her efforts.

Landrieu also notes that the entire Louisiana delegation voted for the transportation bill, with the Medicaid cut, because of the RESTORE Act and $1.4 billion in transportation funding for Louisiana.

The day ended with another release from the governor’s office “in response to today’s nasty political attack on the governor by Senator Landrieu.”

And so the political theater goes on.

Marsha Shuler covers health-care issues for the Advocate’s Capitol news bureau. Her email address is [e-mail].

Comments

1) Comment by DMJ - 01/03/2013

Well, at least someone's not afraid to stand up to Jindal. Way to go, Mary!

2) Comment by tradewinns - 01/03/2013

the "poor" are draining louisiana and the rest of the states dry. because the rest of us are paying the bills for our politicians to buy votes, there is little hope of reforming medicaid or any other politically "hot" program. look at the noise the sequester caused and it was only $85 billion. all the talk in the media was why couldn't the politicians get together and stop the cuts? stop the cuts? we are spending $1,400 BILLIONS more than the govt. takes in this year and they are worried sick about cutting $85 billion? this nation may expire before even i die and i have a good step on the rest of you.

3) Comment by agagent - 01/03/2013

As for the so called economic benefit of Medicaid expansion, Medicaid reimbursements are often below the costs of providing care and care providers make up the difference by charging those with private insurance more or by limiting Medicaid patients. Obamacare will close a significant number of hospitals and doctors and stopped some planned hospitals. Florida already has a severe shortage of doctors.

4) Comment by agagent - 01/03/2013

This is the same reporter who said that Medicaid paid for the vast majority of all births in Louisiana. That statistic shows that Medicaid must be reformed before it is expanded.

5) Comment by agagent - 01/03/2013

Even Landrieu knows the impossible burden Medicaid places on state budgets. That is how she got the “Louisiana purchase” bribe to sell her vote to pass Obamacare.

6) Comment by agagent - 01/03/2013

Most of those new enrollees to Medicaid would be shifted from private insurance to Medicaid and not from the ranks of uninsured. Medicaid is already unsustainable without adding to the enrollment. Each year the state takes hundreds of millions of dollars from higher education, health and hospitals, and other categories of the state budget to increased Medicaid funding. Medicaid spending is unlimited and has had huge mid-year deficits, and that is the main reason for cuts to higher education, pink slips going out to state employees, and state health facilities closing.