BATON ROUGE - The state health department hopes to start signing up eligible people for Medicaid expansion by May, a spokesperson said Wednesday. Officials at the Department of Health and Hospitals believe 300,000 more Louisianans will have Medicaid cards 'in hand' and can start using them July 1.

DHH spokesperson Amelia Burns said the agency had 'positive' talks with federal health officials in Washington D.C. last week.

Louisiana is awaiting approval from D.C. to allow private hospitals and doctors in the state to pay for the $2.8 million cost to expand the program. This would pay for the additional 200+ case workers and an updated computer system needed to expand the program.

Governor John Bel Edwards signed an executive order to expand Medicaid on his second day in office earlier this month.