BATON ROUGE — Gov. Jeff Landry and the Louisiana Department of Health announced an increase in Medicaid reimbursements for providers on Tuesday afternoon.

Some officials said the increase will make doctors more available.

"So providing more dollars to the providers, those who are going to say yes to those most in need, then we are able to definitely impact those lives, give them an opportunity to change their living habits, get them on a corrective plan, and, at the same time, incentivise those doctors that are in the program, and hopefully get more, especially in the rural areas," State Senator Gerald Boudreaux said. 

Officials said the increase in primary care visits will save money in the long run by decreasing emergency room visits.