Sharp Medicaid cuts could result in vulnerable Americans no longer being able to receive care, either by losing coverage or by closing the centers that provide such care.

Of the $16.4 billion annual Medicaid costs for Louisiana, state taxpayers kick in about $3 billion, according to the Legislature. The new law would halt some of the tools Louisiana uses to pay that $3 billion, requiring the state to pour in extra money or let some people go without health insurance.