Louisiana Surgeon General Ralph Abraham confirmed a second measles case in the state and voiced support for a ban on the use of fluoride in public drinking water, during a wide-ranging press conference on Monday.
The health department also plans to review Medicaid patients’ driver’s licenses and use AI to reduce waste and fraud in health care spending, Abraham, newly-named Secretary Bruce Greenstein and other senior staff also announced.
It’s also launching a new initiative to reduce maternal overdose deaths.
Second measles case linked to travel
Abraham confirmed a second case of the measles has been identified in Louisiana, after announcing the first case of the year on Saturday.
Both patients were adults who appeared to have contracted the measles after traveling internationally, he said. The first case involved a person who was not vaccinated, the health department had previously said. Abraham said LDH is still working to determine the vaccine status of the second person. Abraham banned the mass promotion of all vaccines earlier this year. When asked if his department would be promoting the measles vaccine due to these cases, he said, “We have.”
Abraham pointed reporters to the health department’s website, which states that “anyone who has been vaccinated with the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine is well-protected against the virus.”
“We recommend it for our children, and it’s a good vaccine,” Abraham said, adding that children who are vaccinated on schedule are protected for life.
Abraham also said he’s working with Republican Sen. Michael Fesi on a bill to ban the fluoridation of all public water systems across the state. Fluoride in water has been proven to prevent tooth decay, but Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has called for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to re-evaluate the conclusions it's made on the benefits and safety of fluoridation, and he has made false claims about its risks.
“We have made recommendations. It’s a work in progress,” Abraham said of SB 2.
“It's truly a work in progress, but we will see something come out in the bill that is different than what is going on, or what is happening now.”
Louisiana law currently requires the health department to set fluoridation levels. Abraham said Kennedy’s call to review the data on water fluoridation was “a good thing.”
When asked why he supported the bill given the broad scientific and public health support for fluoride in water, Abraham said, “We have to keep an open mind.”
LDH targets Medicaid “waste, fraud and abuse”
The health department plans to work with the Office of Motor Vehicles to compare driver's license records with Medicaid enrollment data to identify people who have active driver’s licenses in other states, undersecretary Drew Maranto said.
“No action of fraud, waste or abuse is acceptable, and the department is committed to identify and putting a stop to this conduct,” he said.
Maranto also announced a partnership between Gov. Jeff Landry’s DOGE-like cost savings initiative, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and others to use artificial intelligence to analyze health department data and look for ways to save money.
He said that LDH’s Program Integrity Unit will strengthen its collaboration with the Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and launch a new data analytics and case management system. The system will use “Louisiana-specific algorithms” to target “high-risk” providers and flag questionable billing patterns, he said.
“Every dollar we saved from fraud and abuse is a dollar that can go toward better care, stronger coverage and a healthier community,” Maranto said.
New program seeks to help mothers struggling with addiction
Deputy Secretary Dr. Pete Croughan announced a new initiative to combat maternal overdoses, the No. 1 cause of maternal mortality in the state.
LDH is launching Project MOM (Maternal Overdose Mortality) to bring together health care providers, hospitals, the Department of Children and Family Services, courts and law enforcement to cut the number of pregnancy overdose deaths by 80%, he said.
“We know that parental substance use is a common problem for kids in foster care, and these deaths fracture families and strain social social services. Almost all are preventable,” Croughan said. “And to fix this problem, we don't need any new scientific breakthroughs. We just need the system to work.”
The Louisiana Perinatal Quality Collaborative has increased substance use screenings for pregnant women from 70% to 93%, Croughan said. The health department plans to create the “blueprint” for Project MOM in the next 30 days. It will hold a stakeholder meeting in 90 days to develop a plan for data and patient tracking. In six months time, it plans to change incentives in the health care system to support substance use treatment.
Croughan introduced Rachel Hernandez, a mother who struggled with substance abuse but was able to get help. Hernandez was profiled by the Times-Picayune in 2023.
“I lost all hope as well. I had no hope in myself, I had no hope in getting better. I had nothing,” she said. “I want to get the word out to other moms,” she said. “You have resources, you have options.”
