Abbeville General working with Medicaid expansion

When Governor John Bel Edwards took office in January, he signed an executive order to expand Medicaid in Louisiana through the federal Affordable Care Act.
That expansion is currently taking place, and Abbeville General Hospital is offering assistance to those residents in Vermilion Parish who want to participate.
“Abbeville General desires to support the efforts of the Department of Health and Hospitals to increase Medicaid enrollment, in order to benefit the residents of the District, by enhancing access to care for citizens of Vermilion Parish,” Abbeville General Marketing Director Diane LaCour said.
Those who are eligible can sign up in person at two locations. In Abbeville, participants can go to Abbeville General’s business office, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. To contact the office for an appointment, call (337) 898-6593. The Maurice Community Care Clinic is also an application site. The clinic is open Tuesday through Friday, from 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For appointments in Maurice, call (337) 892-6856.
“AG has been for many years and will always have our internal Financial Aide Department that is a Certified Medicaid Enrollment Site,” LaCour said. “We are currently partnering with DHH by placing a second enrollment professional at the Maurice clinic during the Medicaid expansion roll-out and at our Health Fairs.”
Three health fairs are scheduled this month. The first will take place at the Maurice Clinic on Wednesday, July 13, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The Erath/Delcambre Community Care Clinic will serve as the location on Saturday, July 16. The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Abbeville General Hospital Clinic will hold the third health fair, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, July 23. Free screenings for blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose, body fat and BMI will be available at each of the health fairs. A dietitian will be on hand to provide nutrition education.
Again, Abbeville General will offer on-site sign up for Medicaid at each of the health fairs for those who are eligible. Individuals must be between the ages of 19-64 and meet household income requirements. The threshold for a yearly household income relative to how many live in the home is as follows:
1 - $16,395
2 - $21,108
3 - $27,821
4 - $33,534
5 - $39,248
6 - $44,961
Abbeville General is considered “in-network” with all of the Medicaid Bayou Health Plans.
“All of our providers in our Rural Health Clinic can be chosen as their Primary Care Physician during the application process,” LaCour said.
That process is set up to make sure that everyone in Vermilion has ample opportunity to receive assistance.
“We will continue for as long as needed to accomplish sufficient outreach for enrolling individuals into the Medicaid program,” LaCour said of how long Abbeville General will work in helping people to sign up.
Abbeville General CEO Ray Landry said the effort falls in line with the mission the hospital began when it opened its doors five decades ago.
“For the last 50 years, Abbeville General has provided quality healthcare to the residents of Vermilion Parish and surrounding areas and will continue to do so in the years to come,” Landry said. “Taking part in this Medicaid Expansion effort to assist thousands of residents in signing up for this worthwhile program shows our commitment to keeping our community healthy. This will be life-changing for many who might otherwise not be able to afford insurance and are in need of quality health care.
“More people will seek primary care and will greatly benefit from preventive care. And a healthy community benefits everyone!”