Governor promises to keep funding senior programs

Gov. John Bel Edwards told a group of about 1,000 senior citizens Monday that he’s committed to continuing to fund councils on aging, transportation services and other resources seniors need.
Edwards was the guest speaker at Monday’s Senior Citizens Educational Seminar at Cypress Bayou Casino. The 16th Judicial District Attorney’s Office hosted the seminar. The district covers St. Mary, St. Martin and Iberia parishes.
The seminar drew about 1,000 people, said Shirley Akers, senior citizens services coordinator for the district attorney’s office.
Edwards said the seminar was the only previously scheduled speaking engagement he left on his calendar this week. Attention to flood recovery efforts has been occupying much of Edwards time recently.
Around 125,000 homes were damaged, and many thousands of people are still displaced as a result of flooding. About 30,000 were rescued and 13 people died during the floods, he said.
Edwards will bring "every available resource to the people of Louisiana as quickly and as meaningfully as possible so that they have every chance to recover," he said. Iberia and St. Martin parishes were among the parishes included in the major federal disaster declaration. Anyone who had damage as a result of the storms should register with FEMA by calling 1-800-621-3362.
During his speech Monday, the governor thanked senior citizens for the guidance they have provided to younger generations. By 2020, the state will have more than 1 million senior citizens, Edwards said.
"We owe you so much for what you've already done for our communities, for our state and for our nation," he said.
Regardless of what challenges the state faces, Edwards said he will always prioritize services Louisiana provides for its seniors.
When Edwards took office as governor, he inherited a potential budget deficit of over $2 billion for the 2016-17 fiscal year, which began July 1.
That possible deficit threatened funding for numerous critical programs, including councils on aging, Edwards said. After three legislative sessions earlier this year, officials cut over $500 million from the state general funding, but not from councils on aging, he said.
Edwards plans to keep funding vital transportation services that senior citizens and others need, he said. State leaders are looking for more opportunities to expand state partnerships with local nonprofit and governmental agencies to provide transportation, he said.
In 2015, 985 vehicles took 1.8 million passenger trips through those partnerships, he said.
"This is a critically important service because I know that if you can't travel, you can't access health care,” Edwards said.
Edwards also spoke positively about the benefits of Medicaid expansion in Louisiana.
On Jan. 12, the day after Edwards took office, he signed an executive order to expand Medicaid in Louisiana.
Before the state expanded its Medicaid, Louisiana was sending its own tax dollars to 30 other states to give health care coverage to those states' working poor and reimbursement to hospitals, doctors and clinics for the care they provided, Edwards said. Louisiana workers had to do without those services until Edwards signed Medicaid expansion.
As of Monday, 292,000 working people in Louisiana, who didn't have health care coverage before July 1, now have it, Edwards said. By bringing Louisiana's federal tax dollars back to the state, Louisiana will save $184 million in the first year of expansion, he said.
"It isn't just about saving money … It's about delivering better health outcomes to our people so that that they are healthier and have a higher quality of life,” Edwards said.
Former Gov. Bobby Jindal was one of a group of Republican governors who refused to implement the Medicaid expansion called for in the Affordable Care Act. Jindal said the state couldn’t afford the additional expense after the federal guarantee of addition funding ran out.