Gov. Edwards announced last Thursday that he had vetoed Lines 6-9 on page 72, noting, “Veto No. 2 restores the $100million reduction in funding to Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) to protect against devastating programmatic cuts that would result from loss of the funding and the federal matching funds, totaling between $400 million and $700 million that were discussed in the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare on June 20 and that were outlined in the letter sent to me by the committee after the hearing asking that I restore the funds.”

“The actual cut could have been seven times larger because of lost federal matching dollars, state health officials told lawmakers on the Senate Health and Welfare Committee last week. Officials said thousands of residents, including children, would likely have lost access to mental health care,” reported Molly Ryan, from WWNO.

Lawmakers had allocated the more than $100 million to pay off state retirement debt. Gov. Edwards had criticized the lastminute cut to health care, calling it “ridiculous” considering the state’s $2.2 surplus. “Lawmakers who helped both negotiate and pass the budget expressed regret about the reduction as they realized the profound impact it could have on health care access for Louisianans,” Ryan reported.