Department of Health, Louisiana
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The purpose of the Department of Health and Hospitals is to protect and promote the health of Louisianans and to ensure access to medical, preventive and rehabilitative services.[1]
[edit] Budget
Fiscal year 2011 expenditures for the Department of Health and Hospitals total $4,184,033,525.30.[2]
| Program | Budget | Expenditures |
|---|---|---|
| Auxiliary Program | $75,000.00 | $937.00 |
| Capital Outlay | $4,673,844.00 | $977,632.50 |
| Debt Services | $6,000,000.00 | $5,326,850.62 |
| Major Repairs | $1,035,053.00 | $110,308.65 |
| Operating Services | $60,732,364.00 | $26,414,898.99 |
| Other Charges | $5,824,289,556.00 | $2,988,032,557.64 |
| Other Compensation | $20,984,604.00 | $10,891,923.66 |
| Professional Services | $180,549,319.00 | $58,338,328.12 |
| Related Benefits | $160,482,438.00 | $86,616,012.87 |
| Salaries | $440,353,411.00 | $242,903,138.50 |
| Supplies | $46,928,224.00 | $18,832,517.53 |
| Transfers to Other State Agencies | $1,523,824,056.00 | $744,266,714.76 |
| Travel and Training | $5,864,339.00 | $1,321,704.46 |
| Total | $4,184,033,525.30 |
[edit] Programs
The Health Services Financing office operates the state's Medicaid program, which provides coverage in areas traditionally covered by private health insurance for Louisianans facing financial hardship.[3][4] The State's Medicaid enrollment for 2008-2009 was 1,233,712.[5]
LaCHIP (Louisiana Children’s Health Insurance Program) provides health care coverage for uninsured children up to age 19.[6] 176,556 children were enrolled in the program in 2008-2009.[5]
[edit] Leadership
The Secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals is Bruce Greenstein.[7]
[edit] Transparency
The Louisiana Transparency and Accountability website tracks state spending and performance.[8]
[edit] Medicaid and the Health Care Compact
A number of states have passed, or are in the process of having their state legislatures approve, the Health Care Compact. This compact seeks to restore control of health care funds to states, allowing participating states to use their federal health care dollars without federal mandates, thus proving them the flexibility and authority to address the unique health care challenges of their state. Rising Medicaid costs highlight the difficulty of balancing state budget crises with federal health care regulations. Medicaid is a federal-state partnership program funded by federal and state tax dollars, but states lack flexibility designing Medicaid programs that best fit the needs of their residents because the federal government sets the standards for the program. As such, the new federal health care law will force states to increase their Medicaid spending, as the law will raise Medicaid eligibility from 100% to 138% of the federal poverty level, resulting in half a million new Medicaid recipients in some states and necessitating that state governments make budget cuts in other areas, such as education and transportation.
The Health Care Compact would restore governance of health care funds to states, allowing flexibility in designing health care programs that reflect the needs of their residents, such that states like Florida with higher numbers of retirees can devote more funds to Medicare programs while states like Mississippi and Tennessee can create additional Medicaid programs for families below poverty level.
Georgia and Oklahoma legislatures have passed the Health Care Compact and one or both houses of the legislatures in Missouri, Texas, Tennessee, Arizona, Montana, and Colorado have approved the Compact. Once approved by Congress, the Health Care Compact will trump other federal health care laws and given decision-making authority over its federal health care dollars to each Compact member.[9]
[edit] References
- ↑ About DHH
- ↑ Louisiana Transparency and Accountability
- ↑ Medicaid (Health Services Financing)
- ↑ Medical Programs
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 State Fiscal Year 2008/09 Medicaid Annual Report
- ↑ LaCHIP
- ↑ Organizational Chart
- ↑ Louisiana Transparency and Accountability
- ↑ "Why Health Care Compact could be solution to Medicaid crisis", The Daily Caller, June 16, 2011
[edit] External links
- State of Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals official site
- Louisiana Accountability and Transparency
[edit] References
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