Gambit's Thumbs Up / Thumbs Down for Aug. 7

THUMBS UP

Doula services

will now be partially covered by private health insurance in Louisiana. House Bill 272, which became law on Aug. 1, requires private health insurers to cover doula services up to $1,500, Verite News reported. Louisiana is not a good place for pregnant people, especially for Black women, but doulas are a growing option for maternal healthcare because of their support, before, during and after labor.

THUMBS DOWN

Tyrell Morris,

the former 911 director who resigned last month, hired a tech vendor without a formal bid process to streamline NOPD record systems into a single program that has now been scrapped, costing the city $1.2 million. Morris picked Hexagon OnCall Records in August 2020, and the company was signed to a $6 million contract, but the Orleans Parish Communication District called off the work last week after finding "serious shortcomings."

THUMBS DOWN

Louisiana's anti-LGBTQ laws

are beginning to push families out of the state, including a popular pediatric heart doctor in New Orleans. Dr. Jake Kleinmahon, who studied at Tulane, began working as a pediatric cardiologist at Ochsner Health about five years ago, with the hope to offer crucial services for children. Now, he, his husband and their two kids are moving because of growing anti-LGBTQ sentiment by Southern legislatures.