Louisiana has hired Seth Gold, a congressional staffer with extensive experience in federal health policy, to run its Medicaid program, the state Department of Health announced Friday.

Medicaid provides health insurance to people with low incomes. Roughly a third of Louisiana residents are enrolled in the program, one of the highest rates in the country. Roughly $16 billion in state and federal money flows through the program in Louisiana per year.

Gold was a staff member for the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, where he worked on Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and the 340B Drug Pricing Program. Before that, he was a health policy advisor to U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-OH.

Gold has a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in public health from George Washingto

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