BATON ROUGE, La. -- The state's health chief says Louisiana's $7 billion-plus Medicaid health insurance program for the poor will need another $450 million next state budget year just to keep the status quo.

Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Alan Levine said the federal government will require the state to put up a larger share of the program costs.

Levine says that change alone will mean the state will have to come up with at least $200 million in additional funds.

He says the state already faced rising costs associated with normal Medicaid program growth as more people qualify to be served.

Levine said DHH submitted the request for increased funding as it submitted its initial budget proposal for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

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