Several statements made this week by Sen. Karen Carter Peterson (D-New Orleans), caused a stir in the already simmering pot of the state legislature's health care debate. Speaking on the Senate floor about medicaid expansion and the national bill so affectionally referred to as "Obamacare," Peterson said that the debate had less to do with health care and more about the race of the President, a statement which caused a political sparring match of words and ideas between the Democratic Party and the administration of the Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican.

The fate of Obamacare was decided by the Supreme Court, but some Louisiana legislators still have the fever a year later.

In November 2012, the latest round of elections put a number of politicians in office for another term or the first time. Now, as the start of the legislative session looms (April 8), we at NoDef are taking the time to look at the actual work these politicians are planning for this year, the fruits of their labor. In the first article of this series, we review some of the 668 House Bills pre-filed thus far.

After seeing Governor Jindal's Sunday appearance on Meet the Press, Senior Senator Mary Landrieu had some harsh words towards Bobby J's stance on Medicaid. The poster boy for conservative politics is telling the feds to keep their money to themselves, a move that Landrieu believes is more in the Gov.'s interest than those of his constituents. At a press conference today, Landrieu accused Bobby J of putting the 2016 presidential election before the interests of his own state.

In Lower Mid-City, the buildings that stood in the way have been cleared and the rhythm of construction is rolling everyday. But the state's new academic teaching hospital, which will serve as the replacement for Charity Hospital, has been having financing problems since day one due to tightening of both the state's budget and cuts to federal aid programs, such as Medicaid. 

Today, Louisiana was poised to become one of a number of states to opt out of the health insurance exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare). But now the state has a little more time, so Mayor Mitch is prodding the gov to reconsider. The decision to turn down the exchange was made by Gov. Bobby Jindal, who stated the position while campaigning for former presidential hopeful Mitt Romney and reiterated his position earlier this week. .

There still may be question if we're going to get those insurance exchanges and larger Medicaid coverage. But starting this month, Louisiana's ladies get access to new services as part of the Affordable Care Act. Most people already know about one provision of the law that allows access to birth control through private health plans, and the attendant political powder keg. But there are a host of other health services, which are available free of co-pays and deductibles as part of exisiting insurance plans. They range from breast and cervical cancer screenings to prenatal care to domestic violence screenings and counseling.

In case you were watching CNN, the consensus of all the rest of the journos that read the opinion in about 28 seconds is that the Supreme Court upheld the main parts of President Barack Obama's health care law by a vote of 5-4. That includes the part that says everybody has to buy, and, in turn, have health insurance. (Full opinion here.) So how are the rebuffed Republicans taking it? Well, if you're Bobby Jindal, you're taking it to Twitter: