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BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana's Democratic governor, John Bel Edwards, moved quickly to expand Medicaid when taking office in 2016. His state is the only one in the Deep South to embrace that signature piece of President Barack Obama's health law.
And the program isn't going anywhere even if Edwards is ousted by a Republican in this fall's election.
Edwards' two main opponents on the Oct. 12 ballot are U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham and businessman Eddie Rispone. The GOP contenders are attacking Edwards' hallmark achievement by criticizing his management of Medicaid expansion. But Abraham and Rispone aren't threatening to end the program if they move into the governor's mansion.
Medicaid expansion is a popular program in the conservative state that solidly supports President Donald Trump. Nearly 460,000 Louisiana adults receive the government financed health coverage.
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