Article archive / February 1, 2014
Originally published: . Volume 5, No. 6. Source pages: 8.
The Governor will increase healthcare funding for the next fiscal year in his budget, announced last week. This includes the promise of no provider rate cuts and no reductions in Medicaid eligibility.
The Executive Budget will provide an additional $26 million to expand access to home and community-based waiver services. Overall, the budget includes more than $606 million in spending on these waivers, an increase of almost 6 percent when compared to the current year budget, according to the announcement.
This money will enable the Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) to begin filling over 2,250 previously frozen waiver slots (including all legislatively authorized slots), adding 200 new NOW waiver slots, and reducing the current waiting list by over 4,000 individuals, said the memo authors.
The Governor reviewed details of the implementation of the private partnerships that replaced the state run charity hospitals, saying that the program was working.
The announcement also outlined operations of the state’s Bayou Health program, “with nearly 900,000 enrollees transitioned from the legacy fee-for-service Medicaid program to a health plan of their choice.”
The Louisiana Behavioral Health Partnership has provided a new approach to both delivering and financing behavioral health services, drawing on the strengths of the private, public and non-profit sectors. This will provide enhanced access to a more complete and effective array of evidence- based behavioral health services and supports, while also improving individual health outcomes, said the announcement.
Within the LBHP, OBH launched the Coordinated System of Care (CSoC) in five regions to better coordinate comprehensive care for children and youth with significant behavioral health challenges or co-occurring disorders who are in, or at-risk of, out of home placement. Statewide implementation of CSoC is anticipated to be completed by the end of FY 14, noted the announcement.
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