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Medicaid expansion sign-up begins

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BATON ROUGE- Sign up for Medicaid expansion started Wednesday at CareSouth Health Clinic in Mid-City.

There weren't lines out of the door since many people are signing up over the phone or by mail.

"We're not being bombarded. A lot of people thought that would happen because today is the first day," Rayven Forrest, Medicaid specialist, said.

The state hopes to have 300,000 people enrolled into the program by July.

As of Wednesday, June 1, the state is more than half way to that goal.

Governor John Bel Edwards was in New Orleans Wednesday promoting the expansion and said that it will save Louisiana millions of dollars in health care costs.

 "For me this isn't conservative versus liberal, Republican versus Democrat. This is right versus wrong not right versus left," Forrest said.

Expansion for the program was put on hold for years under former Governor Bobby Jindal. He believed it would cost the state too much money in the long run.

However, the effort to expand has now been supported.

"I think everybody sees the cost efficiencies, so I think it's put more side together than were opposed under the previous administration. So I think it's working well and now we just have to see if we can implement it," Sen. Fred Mills said.

Coverage under Medicaid expansion begins July 1.

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