Jindal discusses priorities with West Bank leaders- March 20, 2008
The Times-Picayune
Meghan Gordon
Louisiana must act now to turn around its intertwined crises of hurricane vulnerability, coastal erosion and fleeing industry, Gov. Bobby Jindal told West Bank politicians and business leaders Wednesday.
"Time is not on our side," he said at the Alario Center in Westwego. "Our people are voting with their feet. They're moving. You can see the insurance premiums skyrocketing. We will get to a point of no return if we don't take a stand now."
Jindal made broad promises, many with high price tags, in his first appearance at the West Bank Governor's Luncheon, an annual chance for West Jefferson, Plaquemines and Algiers leaders to press the state's top executive for money and support for local projects.
He vowed to work toward state and federal legislation to give the region's hospitals greater flexibility in seeking reimbursement for treating uninsured patients, whose greater numbers since Hurricane Katrina have dealt medical centers severe financial losses.
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