Louisiana
Louisiana’s health secretary wants AI on the phones and the website
Louisiana residents may see changes in calling the state health department or using its website if it turns to artificial intelligence to save money.
The department is examining how it can implement AI over the next few years to make residents’ experiences more efficient and reduce spending, Louisiana Department of Health Secretary Bruce Greenstein said at an AI symposium at LSU.
The first and largest deployment, should the department proceed with it, would be in its call centers. Running the two centers costs over $40 million a year. Greenstein said using AI to answer calls could reduce costs by up to 25%.
That would save the state $10 million a year while still preserving an option to talk to a human employee.
When the department was seeking information about an AI call option, Greenstein said, there was an overwhelming response from possible providers.
Greenstein, who has worked in both the public and private sectors, said he also is interested in using AI to help residents maneuver the department’s website. It houses information on an array of topics from SNAP benefits and Medicaid to oyster harvesting.
“Navigating our web properties becomes challenging if you’re looking for very specific information,” Greenstein said in an interview after the symposium on Friday. “So having chatbots to help people navigate our system is something we’re also considering.”
The department must respect the sensitive clinical information it deals with, Greenstein said, while keeping up with technological advances.
He said he is interested in creating protections in collaborations with health care professionals to codify patients’ rights to privacy.
Some rights would include a consent requirement if patient information was to be run through an AI database. Another would be a notification of changes, especially if a process is losing human interaction entirely.
“So on the AI side, because we’re in kind of the new frontier, what I suspect is that we’ll proceed extra cautiously where the robot takes the place of decision-making for the human,” Greenstein said. “But we’ll have more kind of slack in the system to experiment on the administrative task side.”
Greenstein critiqued other states’ restrictions on AI and said he did not see issues with Louisiana’s implementation yet.
“We are not seeing something that I’m deeply concerned about thus far,” he said. “And within state government, we’ve been taking a cautious but forceful approach forward in analyzing the opportunities but not making any decisions without having a proper amount of security concerns addressed or just thoughtful analysis.”
Gov. Jeff Landry released an executive order in October mandating governmental AI use to be “responsible, ethical, beneficial and trustworthy.”
The order restricts the state government’s use of AI platforms from “free software, especially those created and operated by nation states like the Communist Chinese Party.” He specifically named China’s DeepSeek AI model.
Louisiana ranks among the top 10 most affordable states to retire, according to a new study from Retirement Living, a national journal of retirement research.
Researchers analyzed each state’s housing costs, living expenses and tax friendliness to compile the ranking. Louisiana, they say, is the eighth most affordable state for retirees.
In Louisiana, the median monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $932, the median home sale price is $255,000, monthly grocery spend per capita is $272, the average price per gallon of regular gas is $4, the average Medicare Advantage monthly premium is $13.35 and the average effective property tax rate is 0.55%.
West Virginia is the most affordable state to retire, followed by Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Louisiana, Indiana and Kansas. Researchers describe the South as “the sweet spot for an affordable retirement.”
The most expensive state to retire, meanwhile, is California, followed by Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Utah, New York and Minnesota.
Read Retirement Living’s full report here.
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – With hurricane season approaching, the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority is bringing the community together to prepare before a storm forms.
“We can’t stop disasters from happening. We can’t stop hurricanes from happening. But what we can do is equip our communities with the resources that they need to prepare for these storms ahead of time,” said Jayda Morris, CPRA outreach manager.
The agency hosted an event featuring interactive storm simulations and a full model of the Mississippi River.
“If you do it now, like on a sunny day like today, you’re ready to go for the rest of the season,” Jay Grymes said.
El Niño may reduce storms, but Louisiana still at risk
State Climatologist Jay Grymes said an El Niño pattern may reduce the number of storms in the Atlantic but warned against a false sense of security.
“In those 25 years, Louisiana, some part of the state has been impacted by 29 storms. That’s one a year, regardless of El Niño. So that should tell you something,” Grymes said.
He said the bigger concern is storms that can form in the Gulf with little warning.
“If we’re going to get a storm, it very possibly could be one that bubbles up in the Gulf and doesn’t give us five or seven days to track it coming our way. It gives us 40 hours to get ready for a landfall. So it’s imperative that you go ahead and do it now,” Grymes said.
Preparation goes beyond stocking water
Preparing now includes walking through yards, checking trees, and knowing whether everyone in the family can survive two weeks without power.
PhD students with the LSU College of the Coast and Environment gave the community a virtual reality experience that puts users inside a storm.
“If they wear the goggles or play with the Apple Vision Pro, they can understand how high will the flood be, and they can know how dangerous is the hurricane scenario,” said Yixuan Wang.
The VR simulation uses real historical data to show users what compound flooding looks like in New Orleans and surrounding areas. The goal is to make the science real for people who can’t picture what a flood map means.
“It’s just to let you understand the environment. We will add the audios, the different sound of the wind and the storm. And you can see how tense of the rainfall around you,” Wang said.
Organizers said the event is about making sure that when a storm threatens the area, families already know their plan.
Information from the event is available on CPRA’s website. Hurricane season runs through Nov. 30.
Click here to report a typo. Please include the headline.
Click here to subscribe to our WAFB 9 News daily digest and breaking news alerts delivered straight to your email inbox.
Watch the latest WAFB news and weather now.
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Louisiana homeowners can get financial help to upgrade their roofs and ensure they can better stand up to strong storms.
According to the Louisiana Department of Insurance, registration for next Louisiana Fortify Homes Program lottery opens at 8 a.m. on Monday, June 1. The registration period will stay open through 5 p.m. on Friday, June 19.
Under the latest round of the program, 3,000 grants of up to $10,000 will go out. After applying, homeowners will get placed into a lottery and will be randomly selected.
There are many specific benefits of having a roof upgraded through the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program. Officials said the roofs have stronger shingles that can protect against hail up to two inches wide, sealed roof decks to help prevent water damage, and stronger edges to keep wind from getting underneath.
Homeowners with a fortified roof can also get a certificate to receive a discount on insurance premiums.
“At the end of the day, this program is about more than just roofs,” said Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple. “It is about protecting families, it is about strengthening communities, and it is about putting Louisiana in a stronger position—both physically and economically—to face the challenges ahead.”
Only people living in Ascension Parish, Livingston Parish, Assumption Parish, Tangipahoa Parish, Acadia Parish, Calcasieu Parish, Cameron Parish, Iberia Parish, Jefferson Parish, Jefferson Davis Parish, Lafayette Parish, Lafourche Parish, Orleans Parish, Plaquemines Parish, St. Bernard Parish, St. Charles Parish, St. James Parish, St. John the Baptist Parish, St. Martin Parish, St. Mary Parish, St. Tammany Parish, Terrebonne Parish, and Vermilion Parish are eligible to apply for the latest round of the program.
People living in a newly built home, mobile home, or condominium are not qualified.
For a detailed list of eligibility requirements, click here.
If a person registered for the program previously, he or she must do so again. The person will also need to provide the following information:
- A homestead exemption on the primary residence.
- A policy of insurance that provides wind coverage for the primary residence.
- A flood insurance policy on the primary residence if it is in a special flood hazard area.
For more information about applying, click here.
Click here to report a typo. Please include the headline.
Click here to subscribe to our WAFB 9 News daily digest and breaking news alerts delivered straight to your email inbox.
Watch the latest WAFB news and weather now.
-
Detroit, MI1 minute agoFrankie Valli cancels tour. Why Four Seasons won’t be back in Detroit
-
San Francisco, CA13 minutes agoLive From Microsoft Build 2026 San Francisco
-
Dallas, TX16 minutes agoDallas Cowboys Full OTA Schedule Ahead Of 2026 NFL Season
-
Miami, FL21 minutes agoThese Miami pizza spots rank among America’s best
-
Boston, MA28 minutes agoNew England’s most welcoming towns and best summer escapes
-
Denver, CO31 minutes agoA Writer Goes Down the Rabbit Hole at Denver’s First Microdosing Cafe
-
Seattle, WA36 minutes agoMan injured during stabbing attack in Seattle’s University District
-
San Diego, CA43 minutes agoMore Thoughts on ‘Yes on A’
