Two Louisiana-based health plans – Peoples Health and Vantage Health Plans – are succeeding in the Medicare Advantage space despite competition from larger, national plans. The three managed care health plans providing benefits to Georgia Medicaid beneficiaries received $63 million in retroactive reimbursement payments from the state. The agency overseeing Medicaid in Louisiana is providing devices to physicians to jumpstart electronic prescribing for Medicaid enrollees. In legislative news, Georgia voted to allow an income tax deduction for individuals who purchase a high deductible health plan paired with a health savings account. Meanwhile, in Alabama, bills designed to create tax deductions for small businesses that provide health insurance for their employees were foundering in the final days of the session.