Louisiana cuts off jobless benefits early for 150,000 residents amid worst COVID surge – By Blake Paterson (The Advocate) / Aug 11 2021
When Sandra Louis lost her job at the start of the pandemic, her first worry was how she would afford insulin to treat her diabetes. Even with health insurance, the life-saving medication costs her $1,500 a month, and Louisiana’s meager unemployment benefits covered less than a third of that.
So, when Congress boosted state jobless benefits – first by $600 per week, later trimmed to $300 – the 65-year-old breathed a sigh of relief. Lately, those worries have returned.
This week, Louisiana stopped issuing unemployment checks to nearly 150,000 residents, or about 1 of every 30 state residents. The move marks the end of the state’s participation in several federal aid programs five weeks ahead of their official expiration date.
Gov. John Bel Edwards agreed to a July 31 cutoff for the enhanced unemployment benefits back in June, when the pandemic was at a standstill and business owners were complaining that the payments were encouraging workers to stay home.
