Feds give Louisiana $161M for post-K health care

New Orleans CityBusiness, May 25, 2007

Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco on Thursday announced that Louisiana will receive $161 million in grants from the federal government to improve health care in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

The grants are part of a $195-million disbursement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human services for states affected by Katrina.

"We welcome this additional funding from HHS as we continue rebuilding the health care delivery system in the New Orleans area," Blanco said.

"This afternoon, I personally thanked HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt for his assistance with our recovery. This grant money will complement what I have proposed in our state health care budget to expand access to primary and preventive care and recruit and retain our medical workforce."

Blanco said the state's proposed budget for next year includes more than $320 million in health care system enhancements.

Of the $161 million:

- $25 million will go to the development of medical homes in Louisiana;

- $31 million will expansion of health coverage for children through the Louisiana Children's Health Insurance Program;

- $64 million will increase reimbursements to physicians to help recruit more doctors into the Medicaid program;

- $78 million will expand services to people with disabilities and mental illnesses;

- $3 million will allow more families to purchase insurance coverage through Medicaid; and

- $120 million will go to an uncompensated-care pool to reimburse hospitals for caring for the uninsured.

Also, of the $195 million in HHS grants, $100 million will go to Louisiana for public and nonprofit clinics that provide primary care to low-income and uninsured residents in the New Orleans area.

An additional $60 million will go to Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi to be directed to acute care hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, inpatient psychiatric facilities and community mental health centers.

The remaining $35 million will go to Louisiana for further assisting the New Orleans area in recruiting and retaining health care workers.