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Advocates who fought for years to expand Medicaid eligibility in Louisiana are now gearing up for a new fight against a conservative U.S. Congress that has set its sights on repealing the Affordable Care Act. They're being joined this week by Gov. John Bel Edwards, who has sent a letter to members of Congress urging them to keep Medicaid expansion in place, and Louisiana's health secretary, Dr. Rebekah Gee. In an interview on Thursday (Jan. 5), Gee said Louisiana's progress made under Medicaid expansion — a key component of the Affordable Care Act — should give policy leaders pause in overhauling national health care policy. (Litten, 1/5)

Tennessee could lose 57,000 jobs in 2019 and nearly $900 million in state and local taxes over five years if parts of the Affordable Care Act are repealed without a replacement package, according to a study. Repealing Medicaid expansion, even though Tennessee didn't expand the program, and eliminating the tax credits without plans for an alternative would hurt the bottom line of companies and state and local governments, said Leighton Ku, co-author of the study from George Washington University and the Commonwealth Fund. (Fletcher, 1/5)

As federal lawmakers debate the fate of Obamacare this month, health coverage for millions of Californians hangs in the balance. Covered California, the state health insurance exchange, and the expansion of Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program for low-income residents, are products of the Affordable Care Act. Both could be at risk if the GOP-led Congress and President-elect Donald Trump gut key pieces of the health law. (1/6)

Close to a half-million Georgians have been enrolled for coverage for the 2017 health insurance exchange through Dec. 31. (Miller, 1/5)