Jindal’s raid on our trust funds

As the election for the next President approaches, I feel it is my responsibility as a former Louisiana State Senator to enlighten you about a possible future candidate. Louisiana Governor [Piyush] Jindal, has been setting the stage for a possible run for President of the United States. In doing so, he has caused much arm to the state of Louisiana and its residents.

Basically, Governor Jindal and the state of Louisiana have “Obamacared” its own employees’ health insurance plan as well as two other different agencies’ funds. When Governor Jindal came into office, the Health Care Trust Fund for the state of Louisiana had a $500 million dollar balance. According to Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera, this same trust fund will be gone by 2015. How is it possible that $500 million has disappeared? Also, the Louisiana Medicaid Trust Fund for the Elderly had a balance of $519.2 million in 2012 and at the end of this fiscal year, it will contain zero! In 2011, the state capped the amount of the Tobacco Settlement Trust Fund and redirected the monies to the operating budget. This maneuver thus effectively uses the trust fund money to pay for balancing the budget (Lake Charles American Press, Sunday, August 10, 2014O.

Governor Jindal brags about balancing Louisiana budgets, but he never mentions how many times he has “robbed Peter to pay Paul” to do it. He has put together some of the most patched up budgets of any Louisiana governor in recent times. It is predicted that for the next fiscal year, the state deficit will be some $1.2 billion! (Lake Charles American Press, Thursday, September 4).

Now, due to Governor Jindal’s actions, the members of the Office of Group Benefits, which includes all state workers, retirees, and some educators, bus drivers and cafeteria workers, will pay the price. In July, premiums were increased by five percent and will increase again on January 1, 2015 by another six percent for a total increase of 11 percent. Retirees were given a 1.5 percent pay increase in July only to see their premiums increase. None of this would have happened if he hadn’t raided our trust funds!

The changes do not only include premium increases. Other changes include increasing out of-pocket cost for all members, increasing deductibles, increasing co-pays by 100 percent increasing out-of-pocket cost for prescriptions b $300 for a total of $1500 per person (20% increase), increase in cost of prescriptions for all types, and eliminating out-of-network benefits for some health plan options. The average out-of-pocket costs for all members will be 47 percent higher — yes 47 percent higher!

Here is an example how the new proposed plan will work taken directly out of a publication for the Louisiana Legislature by the Legislative Fiscal Office, Focus on the Fisc., August 2014, Volume 3, Issue 2. You break you ankle at the beginning of the health plan year and have to have emergency surgery, today the member with an HMO would ay $300 after January 1, 2015, there will no longer by an HMO but its equivalent is the Proposed Open Access and the member would pay $2,900. In this same issue, it states that the out-of-pocket maximums for OGB plan members are significantly increased ranging from 54 percent up to 300 percent.

I have only touched the tip of the ice berg when it comes to the things he has done to our state. His plan has always been to run on a national level and we the citizens of Louisiana were only his stepping stones and he has trod over us seriously damaging our state. He should be held accountable for where the over $1 billion has gone and the harm he has caused the people of Louisiana. If Governor Jindal is wiling to cause such financial hardship to the people of his own state, the middle class of Louisiana, as well as the retirees of the state, what would he do on a national level?

– James David Cain
Former Louisiana State Senator