AMNA NAWAZ: Members of the U.S. House have left Washington for their summer break, and Republicans are working to promote the tax and spending cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill, which President Trump recently signed into law.
But concerns about cuts to Medicaid in particular remain.
Congressional correspondent Lisa Desjardins is in Louisiana, home to the top two House leaders, and a state with the greatest reliance on Medicaid in the country.
She joins us now.
And she and the team are braving a wicked summer storm there.
But, Lisa, you have long been reporting on the potential impact to Medicaid from back here in Washington.
Tell us about what you found on the ground in Louisiana.
LISA DESJARDINS: That's right, Amna.
Welcome to the Bayou State in the summer.
This is a place that is worth looking at for Medicaid, because almost a third of this state is on Medicaid.
Now, when you talk to people here, going around the state, what I get most of all, what surprised me the most, is the level of uncertainty about what's about to happen.
And that's across ideologies.
That's because we don't really know how the new law is going to be implemented.
And a reminder that the new law would change how people need to show that they are eligible, how often they have to put in paperwork.
There would be new work requirements in this bill potentially.
And, also, it would decrease the amount of money states get.
So Republicans here say they think that they will be able to implement this law without hurting the vulnerable.
But many others say, no, they're concerned about that.
For patients, there is confusion, Amna, over what it means for them.
We spoke to a woman, Rita.
She's a mother of three.
She is working.
The work requirements probably wouldn't affect her.
But she's worried about whether her Medicaid would say if she misses some paperwork.
And, overall, she expressed what we heard from most people, a great deal of anxiety.
RITA NOEL, Medicaid Recipient: I'm very apprehensive about what's going on right now.
And I'm very concerned.
It's going to cause a lot more mental illness.
It's going to cause a lot more sickness.
And it's like that shouldn't be the way that we're gearing towards.
We're all Americans.
And I feel like we should all have a right to fair health care, no matter how much money we have.
LISA DESJARDINS: That's another idea most people agree on here, of course.
But implementation, that's what it comes down to.
The state of Louisiana has passed a law trying to unify all the safety net programs, but, again, advocates are worried that might not be enough.
And as it stands right now, there is a widespread concern.
As the lightning strikes over here, I want to get to how Americans see this in general.
The Wall Street Journal asked recently whether people think Medicaid, the changes, would help or hurt.
And 63 percent of people answered, they think these changes will hurt those on Medicaid.
Regardless, Amna, we know in this state there will be significant effects.
We just don't know yet, and people are concerned about it and waiting.
AMNA NAWAZ: Lisa, as we know, Louisiana is a deep red state.
It's also one of the nation's poorest.
How do the people on the ground that you talk to, how do they see the Trump economy at this moment?
LISA DESJARDINS: Yes, it's a parallel moment there too.
There is real economic uncertainty.
On the one hand, you have places like this seafood market behind me that are planning to expand, become sort of a brand called Gator Town.
But at the same time, seafood suppliers are concerned because of disruption to supply chains.
Inflation is ticking up here, especially for seafood, poultry and meat.
And that is something we heard across the board.
So it seems that President Trump is not winning on the economy yet.
Going back to that Wall Street Journal poll, we saw that divide.
We saw most people still believe the economy is still for the worst under President Trump.
I want to mention also, in the city of New Orleans, we talked to musicians, we talked to artists who work there.
They say their sales have slowed down.
They're concerned about the economy.
Things aren't for the worst yet, but there is concern.
One other thing, the city of Louisiana itself saw its GDP go down.
It actually shrunk in the first quarter of this year.
And that's something, of course, everyone in the state wants to turn around.
AMNA NAWAZ: Lisa, we will look forward to more of your reporting from on the ground there in Louisiana.
For now, you and the team should head to drier ground.
That's Lisa Desjardins reporting from on the ground in Louisiana for us.
Thank you.