BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Gov. John Bel Edwards' administration is pushing back against Republican claims that Louisiana isn't maximizing the savings available from the Medicaid expansion that begins next month.
Health Secretary Rebekah Gee said Wednesday next year's budget already assumes $184 million in Medicaid expansion savings — and that's all the savings available.
Gee told the House Ways and Means Committee: "We have left no stone unturned."
Republicans are resisting many of Edwards' tax proposals. The governor says without new revenue, education and health programs will face cuts.
Documents circulated by GOP lawmakers suggested Louisiana could tap into more federal financing to bail out the budget without raising taxes as the Democratic governor proposes in the special session.
The documents came from Bruce Greenstein, a former Louisiana health secretary who opposed Medicaid expansion.