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BATON ROUGE - Democrat Kathleen Blanco of Lafayette and Republican Bobby Jindal of Baton Rouge are battling it out this week on the issue of health care - just as those with group insurance policies are facing major rate hikes.

Blanco has become more specific in her plans, articulated in press conferences Wednesday in Alexandria and Tuesday in Baton Rouge and going beyond her general plans for a "Health Care in Crisis Summit" to be co-chaired by U.S. Sen. John Breaux.

Jindal was at Woman's Hospital in Baton Rouge on Tuesday to publicize the need for early detection of breast cancer, promising to seek more federal funds and focus attention on the fact that one out of eight women will get the second most common cancer - after skin cancer - in women.

The move puts Blanco square in the middle of the health-care arena where Jindal launched his political career as secretary of the state Department of Health and Hospitals, appointed by his political benefactor, outgoing Republican Gov. Mike Foster.

Blanco's health-care promises are topped with the proposed summit of health-care professionals from the public and private sectors but also include specifics such as expanding health coverage to 100,000 uninsured children and Medicaid eligibility to citizens near, not just below, the poverty level.

Decisions need to be made by someone "who understands we are talking about people, not statistics," Blanco said.

Both candidates are talking about focusing state health-care dollars on preventive health care such as early detection of breast cancer.

"You either pay now, or you pay later," Jindal said after viewing a new computer-assisted detection device that he said provides "a third read" of a mammography. His wife, Supriya, who is pregnant with their second child, accompanied him. "We'll be back in April," Jindal told a nurse.

Blanco sounded a similar theme. "If you stop it on the front end, you save money on the back end."

Both rattled off statistics Wednesday.

At Woman's Hospital, Jindal said 3 million American women have breast cancer, though 1 million of them - one third - don't even know it. Nine out of 10 breast cancer patients have no family medical history of the disease. Black women have the highest mortality rates. Louisiana ranks 49th in survival rate.

"We are not doing enough screenings," Jindal said. "In a $1 billion budget, we can find the dollars for this."

Blanco had some data of her own. "We are in the top five uninsured states in the nation. This is a statistic that has to change."

Jindal's health-care plan was released in August.

Blanco's more specific health-care plan appears to be a shift in her strategy from a week earlier, when she said the health-care summit is a good idea because "no one of us has all the answers."

Blanco also launched a health-care message on television that seeks to define the health-care differences between Jindal and her. "Where he sees statistics, I see people," Blanco says in her television ad. "Where he sees problems, I see opportunities."

Health-care groups endorse Blanco

Democratic candidate Kathleen Blanco of Lafayette has picked up the endorsement of several organizations in the health-care industry.

The Louisiana Association for Behavioral Health and the East Baton Rouge Parish Medical, the Louisiana Independent Pharmacy and the Louisiana Ambulance associations all announced Tuesday they are backing Blanco over Republican Bobby Jindal of Baton Rouge in the Nov. 15 runoff.

Jindal picks up support of good government alliance

The Alliance for Good Government chapters in Jefferson, Orleans, St. Bernard and St. Tammany parishes are endorsing Republican Bobby Jindal of Baton Rouge for governor in the Nov. 15 runoff against Democrat Kathleen Blanco of Lafayette. The group describes itself as a nonpartisan alliance of local citizens "concerned about good government."

Jindal says he has no time to meet with gay rights group

Republican Bobby Jindal said he would not tolerate discrimination against gay people in his administration, but he does not have time to meet with the Louisiana League for Equality, an umbrella organization of several gay rights groups headed by Baton Rouge corporate CEO Joe Traigle.

Jindal, who refused to meet with the organization, said "hundreds of organizations have asked to meet with me, and there is just not enough time."

He does not, however, believe that sexual orientation should be added, along with age, race or sex, to non-discrimination laws. "That's covered under existing civil rights laws. I don't believe we should create another legal class."

Wednesday, Traigle said Jindal is factually incorrect. "There is no law in the state of Louisiana that prohibits discrimination against gay people."

He said Jindal has refused "to meet with taxpaying citizens because of their sexual orientation." Blanco met last week with the group, which she said did not ask for promises.

"Mr. Jindal is a bright young man with some very good ideas," Traigle said. "His idea that it is acceptable to discriminate against taxpaying Louisiana citizens because of their sexual orientation is clearly old Louisiana and should not be part of our future."

Humorist draws attention with frivolous interview online

Humorist Chris Rose has attracted a lot of attention to his Internet interview of Republican Bobby Jindal on Bourbon Street on Tuesday. A surrogate read Kathleen Blanco's responses to his questions.

The completely frivolous interview included such questions as what is their fashion sense? "Dictated by my wife," Jindal said. "Classic," responded Blanco.

What did they think about Rush Limbaugh's drug problem? "Maybe that explains some of the things he says on the radio," quipped Jindal. "Shame on him" was Blanco's response.

For those wanting to see or hear the brief show, log on to www.nola.com/rose.

Where the candidates will campaign today

Kathleen Blanco's campaign called reporters Wednesday evening to say she would be making "an important announcement" at a press conference at 8:45 a.m. today at Baton Rouge Airport. Less than three hours later, her campaign sent out e-mails canceling the press conference "due to a scheduling conflict." Her schedule today otherwise includes a rally at 11 a.m. at the Alexandria Civic Center, a tour of Monroe's E.A. Conway Hospital at 4 p.m. and a rally at the Monroe Civic Center at 5 p.m.

Bobby Jindal will be in Baton Rouge, Houma and Alexandria today. The Alexandria appearance will be for a half-hour television debate to be broadcast live on KALB-TV, according to Jindal spokesman Trey Williams, who said the station is proceeding with the program even though Blanco declined the invitation. Blanco announced more than two weeks ago that she would appear only on four statewide television debates and a fifth in Shreveport.

Foster lauds handling of teacher pay pledges

Gov. Mike Foster suggested the two candidates in the gubernatorial race have handled their pledges of increased teacher pay well by not promising to get teachers' salaries to the Southern average.

"To the credit of both candidates, they didn't guarantee it," he said Wednesday in his weekly radio and TV address. "They need to emphasize it and try."

Over Foster's two terms, six teacher raises have been approved totaling about $400 million, according to statistics from his staff. Average teacher pay in Louisiana is $36,328 a year.

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- The Associated Press contributed to this report.