BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — Louisiana faces a $64 million deficit. In an executive order, Gov. Jeff Landry laid out the financial forecast and ordered department heads to find ways to cut costs and identify savings.
The order states a projected $64 million deficit for fiscal year 2024-25 and a fiscal cliff of $558 million in 2025-2, which could grow to a $773 million deficit in 2027-28.
In a January meeting, State Director of Planning & Budget Ternisa Hutchinson said, “Primarily, the changes are in Medicaid and the statewide adjustments.”
She said the Medicaid forecast is higher than projected because of a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services change.
Louisiana Department of Health Secretary Ralph Abraham told lawmakers he hopes they see a “somewhat of a seismic change in the way we operate.”
He said the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services requires that specific issues be fixed.
“There is CMS mandate that certain patients have to be rolled off because of the COVID emergency is now a non-emergent issue,” said Abraham.