Jindal reverses decision to cut hospice care out of Medicaid

Gov. Bobby Jindal backtracks The backlash from Gov. Bobby Jindal's decision to cut hospice care from the state's Medicaid program as of Feb. 1 has been loud and sustained. Loud and strong enough to force Jindal to reverse that decision.

Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration backed down on a plan that would have ended Medicaid-provided hospice care next week even as protesters were gathering for a candle-lit vigil to oppose the cuts Wednesday. Dozens of hospice workers and supporters broke into cheers as leaders of the protest announced the news on the steps of the state Capitol in Baton Rouge. [...]

However, the future of the Medicaid hospice program remains uncertain. The state will use about $1.1 million in grant money to keep the program afloat until June 30, the end of the state's fiscal year, giving the Department of Health and Hospitals enough time to revamp how hospice care is provided for low-income residents.

Here's a suggestion for Jindal: end your pointless objection to taking the Medicaid expansion money from the Affordable Care Act. Taking that Medicaid expansion money could ease the burden on the state for all the health care expenses it incurs, most likely saving more than enough money to preserve a well-functioning hospice program.

That's what Jindal would do if he were really the Republican reformer he's apparently trying to posture himself as. He's supposedly preparing to tell the Republican National Committee that the GOP needs to 'recalibrate the compass of conservatism," whatever that means. He could prove he's an evolving Republican by doing something that actually makes sense. But don't expect that to happen. He's got presidential ambitions, so he has to keep feeding the beast that is the insane GOP base.