LAKE PROVIDENCE, La. — East Carroll Parish sits in the northeastern corner of Louisiana, along the winding Mississippi River. Its seat, Lake Providence, was once a thriving agricultural hub of the region. Now, charred and dilapidated buildings dot the small city center. There are a few gas stations, a handful of restaurants — and little to no industry.

Mayor Bobby Amacker, 79, remembers a time when "you couldn't even walk down the street" in Lake Providence's main business district because "there were so many people."

"It's gone down tremendously in the last 50 years," said Amacker, a Democrat. "The town, it looks like it's drying up."

Now, East Carroll residents stand to lose even more with the pending cutbacks to Medicaid, which covers many low-income people in the region.

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