The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals announced Friday that a state Medicaid waiver program will extend into next year, offering healthcare to 60,000 people who don't otherwise qualify for Medicaid and allowing them to access care at 40 area clinics, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. The Greater New Orleans Community Health Connection will offer the services thanks to a $6.1 million funding extension. Prior to the decision, the program's future was uncertain due to Gov. Bobby Jindal's refusal to implement the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion. New Orleans' Medicaid waiver, which was implemented in 2010, provides for free primary and mental care for those with incomes up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level. As part of the conditions of the extension, the income requirement was changed to below 100 percent of the federal poverty level, which officials say will make one third of the current recipients ineligible. Article