Bobby Jindal

Dear Friends,

Ensuring Quality Health Care for Our Children

I was proud to join Secretary Alan Levine of the Louisiana Department of Health (DHH) and Hospitals at the Children’s Coalition for Northeast Louisiana in Monroe last week to announce that, as the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported, “Aggressive outreach efforts have helped the state add 11,000 [uninsured] children” to the Louisiana Children’s Health Insurance Program (LaCHIP) since January. DHH has already surpassed its enrollment goals for this program for the entire year, showing a commitment to ensuring that all of Louisiana’s children have access to health care.

One of my first acts as Governor was to secure approval to expand LaCHIP to insure children up to 250 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. We have also recently created an online application for those wishing to find coverage under LaCHIP, increasing access to the tools and materials needed in order to apply for the program. With the implementation of this expansion and online application, LaCHIP now covers more that 646,000 children throughout the state that might not otherwise have access to care. Since LaCHIP was started, as I was ending my tenure as Secretary of DHH, we have decreased the portion of uninsured children in our state from 25 percent to five percent.

The story of one of these children was told in the Monroe News-Star. Taryn Eldridge, a recent college graduate who had to move back in with her parents following a divorce, suddenly found herself without the ability to provide her child, Reese, with health insurance. However, she was one of the first to sign up for LaCHIP’s expansion program, and Reese now has insurance. “I was so excited to hear that my baby would have insurance,” she said.

Taryn and Reese’s story is important because it signifies how LaCHIP encourages working families to become self-sufficient and allows working parents to pay premiums. Currently our system rewards those without jobs by providing them with free health insurance, among other things, but then cuts them off once they have found employment. Hence, without LaCHIP, Taryn would have been unable to provide care for Reese after gaining employment, in effect punishing her for finding a job. We must stop discouraging people from working, and instead provide them with opportunities that encourage them to work.

It is absolutely critical as move forward that we make certain all Louisianians, especially those from lower income and working families such as Reese Eldridge, have access to high-quality affordable health care, and working to increase the enrollment in health insurance programs for children is a vital part of that mission. This will improve our state’s overall health care system as well, decreasing the number of unnecessary emergency room visits and the accompanying health care costs. It will also help in ensuring that our children are healthier, which will in turn lead to them missing fewer school days and increase their academic performance.

We will continue working to find ways to increase access to quality, affordable health care for every Louisianian, and this is certainly a great start.

Signing Legislation into Law

I have recently signed a number of bills into law, including House Bill 770 - which broadens the crime for computer-aided solicitation of minors to include text messages.

We must continue to strengthen our laws in order protect our children from those who seek to do them harm. As the father of three young children myself, I certainly understand the importance in protecting them from these vile and disgusting acts, and I have made this an important part of our legislative package.

For too long, many criminals have been able to get away with these horrible acts with little more than a slap on the wrist. It is time that we sent them a message that Louisiana will no longer stand idle, and that they will be punished accordingly. We must continue to dramatically strengthen the laws against those who would hurt our children, especially through the Internet, and I look forward to continuing to work with the Legislature to this end.

I also signed two additional bills that will have an immediate impact. House Bill 544 permanently gives the Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) the flexibility to enter into design-build contracts, saving the state both time and money and giving drivers more miles of new roads. One example of how this works is with the widening of Interstate 12 from four lanes to six lanes from O’Neal Avenue in Baton Rouge eastward, allowing the state to build further than originally planned.

Second, Senate Bill 133 will require the Department of Agriculture to abide by the public bid law. This will ensure that taxpayer money is being used in the most efficient method possible and not to the whims of special interests. Increasing governmental transparency and accountability are paramount to building a new Louisiana, and this legislation is a positive step forward.

Continuing Hurricane Preparedness

This past week I visited Houma and with the Louisiana National Guard at Camp Beauregard in Pineville to spread the word about hurricane preparedness. As KALB TV reported, hurricane preparedness starts with each individual family creating a preparedness plan. As quoted in the Houma Courier, “the state has improved communications between law enforcement and other emergency responders, audited evacuation plans for hospitals and invested millions of dollars into plans to prepare the state for hurricane season.”

The Daily Advertiser said that “preparations at the state level appear to be strong,” and one reason is our National Guard. It was also great to visit with the members of our National Guard, and let them know how much we appreciate what they do for our country and for our state, be it overseas or within Louisiana. As I was quoted in the Shreveport Times, “As primary responders following a natural disaster, they are critical to the response following a disaster, as they show the courage and strength to run towards danger, not away from it. As I was standing before rows of Army vehicles and other equipment, I was quoted in the Shreveport Times as saying, “As important as this equipment is behind us, what’s more important than the equipment is the men and women trained to use this equipment who are ready at a moment’s notice to be deployed.”

I encourage you all once again to visit the state’s new preparedness website, www.GetaGameplan.org, and utilize the tips and information found there to ensure that your family is prepared this hurricane season.

Focusing on the New Louisiana

With Senator McCain’s visit to Louisiana last week, the spotlight was once again on Louisiana and many in the national press noted the progress that we have made toward a New Louisiana. The Wall Street Journal sums it up best — “In office, Gov. Jindal has pushed a nuts-and-bolts agenda. On his second day as governor, he began revamping regulations that had severely hampered the state’s recovery from Katrina. Then he pushed through one of the strictest ethics laws in the nation. Since then he has won approval for five tax breaks…and spent more than $800 million on crumbling levees and infrastructure.”

This type of article reiterates to others around the nation that Louisiana is open for business and is a great place for businesses to come and invest.

Heading to Rosenblatt

Congratulations to the LSU Tiger Baseball Team on winning the Super Regional and earning a spot in the College World Series. The victories by the team and the atmosphere created by the fans were a perfect sendoff for Alex Box Stadium. This year has been a remarkable and historic year for a team that worked hard, believed in their abilities and never gave up.

It is great for LSU to return back to their second home - Rosenblatt Stadium - to bring another national championship back to Louisiana. Geaux Tigers!

Sincerely,

Governor Bobby Jindal