This appendix data goes with the June 2, 2026, post, How Much Longer Can You Pay? What’s Changed With Negotiations and Cost Shifting for 2026.

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This year marks the 21^st year that I’ve been deeply involved in how healthcare is financed in Louisiana, seeing how money moves through that system. I’m surprised at how many moving parts and different players are involved in delivering and paying for healthcare. Read more

My Dad, the founder of Straight Talk, despite having a mild form of dyslexia and struggling to spell words, was an inveterate letter writer. When he saw something going sideways that he thought someone should be working to fix, either because of their job or their appointed position, he let them know. Forcefully! Read more

In our last post, we went into pretty specific detail about the underlying causes for Louisiana’s very poor scoring in a recent Commonwealth Fund analysis. The analysis showed Louisianians spend a larger average percentage of our household income on health insurance premiums and deductibles than residents of any other state. In other words, we finished last in this important affordability category. And as I explained, the reason why is as much about the average Louisiana household’s income as the cost of health insurance or deductible size. Read more

A recent Commonwealth Fund analysis is attracting a lot of attention, much of it negative, surrounding health insurance and healthcare affordability nationwide. That study compared Louisiana with other states and the national average. Let’s have a Straight Talk chat about the findings. Read more

Nearly 40% of Louisianians are obese and at risk of significant health problems as we age. Modern medicine has developed a drug that could help. GLP-1s are amazing at controlling blood sugar in type 2 diabetics. Read more