: Blueprint Louisiana - To Fundamentally Improve Louisiana :

Provide First-Class Access to Health Care

Health care reform is widely regarded as the most challenging component of the Blueprint Agenda. Nonetheless, in Louisiana today, there is near universal agreement that we must improve uninsured care and strengthen medical education in the state. Blueprint Louisiana offers a practical, affordable design to accomplish both of these undeniable needs. Our health care recommendations represent a middle ground approach that would improve our care for the uninsured in several important ways:

Expanding Louisiana’s health care safety net provider system to offer the uninsured better access to care that is delivered closer to home by a mix of public and willing private health care providers;

Customizing the safety net provider system by region to best meet the primary care and hospital needs of the patients in each region;

Leveraging (by 3 to 1) available federal dollars to extend insurance coverage to 100,000 low-income parents.
Given the concentration on education and workforce development during the regular session, Blueprint focused on only one element of its six health care recommendations - transparency in state spending for the uninsured. We can report a major success on that item.

Health Care Recommendation #6 Enhance accountability in state health care spendingSenate Bill 337 requires the collection of patient-specific data on the specific care and services delivered from the majority of Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments. The bill implements accountability for performance and quality of health care in publicly-funded programs with the collection of patient-specific data from both public and private recipients of DSH funds. This data will assist the Legislature and the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals in better understanding the services provided to uninsured patients and the costs associated with those services. For the first time, the state will be able to track spending, measure performance, and plan intelligently for meaningful, system-wide reform.

SB 337 was passed unanimously by both houses, and Act No. 540 became effective August 15, 2008.

Blueprint will pursue its other health care recommendations in 2009.

Updates

Senate Bill 358 of the 2010 regular legislative session

Senate Bill 428 of the 2010 regular legislative session

SB 337/Act No. 540

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