Louisiana has officially lowered its projected budget deficit for the budget cycle starting July 1 from $994 million to $648 million, leaving additional funding for healthcare initiatives the administration was considering cutting, according to The Times-Picayune.
Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards was considering cuts that could have closed New Orleans-based University Medical Center before finding the $346 million savings. However, it is unclear where the administration will direct the saved money, as the state's TOPS college scholarship program also stands to lose 80 percent of funding.
Full funding for TOPS would require $233 million, while funding University Medical Center and other safety-net facilities would cost $206 million. Home health services and nursing facility coverage for the elderly and disabled would require $287 million.
House Speaker Taylor Barras, R-New Iberia, has said that the state House leadership's top priority for the excess money is to fund the TOPS program and apply the remainder for healthcare services.