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• Grand jury selected to review Medicaid contract

  May 23, 2013 3:21 PM

  BATON ROUGE- The Louisiana attorney general's office says a special grand jury has been selected to look into possible criminal activity involving the award of a $200 million Medicaid contract by Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration. It's part of an ongoing investigation into the award of the now-canceled contract for Client... more »

• House overwhelmingly refuses to expand Medicaid

  May 21, 2013 6:24 PM

  BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana House has rejected an attempt to provide government-subsidized health insurance to thousands of people with the Medicaid dollars available under the federal Affordable Care Act. The 59-37 vote against the Medicaid expansion proposal appeared to kill the issue for the legislative session. The Senate's budget... more »

• Proposals would limit cuts in Medicaid program

  May 20, 2013 4:39 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Proposals making it more difficult to cut the rates paid to hospitals and nursing homes for taking care of Medicaid patients are nearing final passage. Support from lawmakers comes despite concerns the constitutional amendments would further limit budget areas available to cut when Louisiana has financial woes... more »

• Senate budget committee stalls Medicaid program

  May 20, 2013 2:11 PM

  BATON ROUGE- A proposal for Louisiana to tap into federal health overhaul money available for expanding Medicaid has been stalled by senators. The Senate Finance Committee rejected the bill Monday, with all but one Republican voting against expansion. The measure would seek federal approval to use the expansion money to... more »

• Three accused of filing false Medicaid claims

  May 17, 2013 12:01 PM

  ZACHARY - The Louisiana Attorney General's Office announced three Zachary women have been arrested and charged with filing false Medicaid claims. Investigators said the three women, all personal care attendants, filed timesheets claiming they were working with Medicaid recipients at the same time they were actually working for another... more »

• Grand jury planned in Medicaid case

  May 16, 2013 11:29 AM

  BATON ROUGE - Attorney General Buddy Caldwell has asked a Baton Rouge judge to block access to records requested by a company whose $200 million Medicaid contract was canceled by the state. In a court filing Wednesday, Caldwell's staff told Judge Tim Kelley the records requests by Client Network Services... more »

• Revised Medicaid expansion proposed to House panel

  May 8, 2013 11:31 AM

  BATON ROUGE - Two Republicans joined with Democrats on the House health committee to advance a proposal to tap into federal funding available to offer insurance to the working poor. But one of those Republicans says his vote was a mistake. The House Health and Welfare Committee already rejected a... more »

• CNSI sues La. over canceled Medicaid contract

  May 6, 2013 3:11 PM

  BATON ROUGE - The company hired to handle Louisiana's Medicaid system filed suit today against the state, saying the $200 million contract was improperly canceled by Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration. Client Network Services. Inc., known as CNSI, wants compensation for the work they did, costs incurred, and other financial... more »

• Lawsuit looming over canceled Medicaid contract

  May 3, 2013 11:33 AM

  BATON ROUGE - Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration is facing a likely lawsuit from the Maryland-based company whose nearly $200 million Medicaid contract with the state was terminated. Client Network Services Inc., known as CNSI, issued a statement Friday from lawyer Kathryn Harris saying the state won't negotiate in good faith... more »

• Senate committee backs Medicaid expansion model

  April 30, 2013 6:53 PM

  BATON ROUGE - A proposal for Louisiana to tap into the federal health overhaul money available for expanding Medicaid has won approval from the state Senate's health committee, despite opposition from Gov. Bobby Jindal. The committee voted 4-3 Tuesday to send a modified Medicaid expansion bill to the full Senate... more »

• Kleckley says Medicaid expansion a no-go this year

  April 25, 2013 1:02 PM

  BATON ROUGE - House Speaker Chuck Kleckley says he doesn't believe any proposal to tap into the federal Medicaid expansion money will win passage in the Louisiana Legislature this year. Kleckley, a Republican from Lake Charles, says lawmakers are interested in differing models that could access money from the Affordable... more »

• Lawmakers delay vote on Medicaid expansion Play Video

  April 24, 2013 2:59 PM

  BATON ROUGE- Senators have pushed back their first vote on whether they want to cover more uninsured people in the state's Medicaid program, as allowed under the federal Affordable Care Act. The Senate Health and Welfare Committee on delayed its decision a week, after senators said they wanted more information,... more »

• Lawmakers weigh in on Medicaid expansion

  April 24, 2013 8:54 AM

  BATON ROUGE - State lawmakers are taking their first votes on whether they want to cover more uninsured people in the state's Medicaid program, as allowed under the federal Affordable Care Act. Both the House and Senate health care committees have hearings scheduled Wednesday on Medicaid expansion bills. ... more »

• Jindal disputes savings estimate for expansion

  April 23, 2013 4:24 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Gov. Bobby Jindal is disagreeing with a nonpartisan financial analysis done for lawmakers that estimates the state could save more than $500 million over 10 years by expanding Louisiana's Medicaid program under the federal health law. The estimates by the Legislative Fiscal Office came in advance of... more »

• CNSI official defends Medicaid contract award

  April 12, 2013 10:15 AM

  BATON ROUGE - A top official with a Maryland company whose nearly $200 million Medicaid contract with the state has been cancelled says the company has never been contacted as part of the ongoing federal probe into the contract award. Larry Iversen, the CNSI executive who oversaw the company's Louisiana... more »

• Jindal won't seek to follow Arkansas on Medicaid Play Video

  April 9, 2013 6:52 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Louisiana's private hospitals are supporting the expansion of the state Medicaid program under the federal health care law. The Louisiana Hospital Association's announcement Tuesday puts the organization at odds with Gov. Bobby Jindal, who opposes the expansion. The announcement comes the same day the Jindal administration said... more »

• Committee to look at privatized Medicaid plans

  April 9, 2013 10:37 AM

  BATON ROUGE - A state Senate committee scheduled to meet this afternoon will look at compromises other states have made with the Obama administration over expanding health coverage for the poor. Governor Bobby Jindal said he would not accept the Medicaid expansion under the president's health care reforms, saying... more »

• DHH report: La. could save on Medicaid expansion

  March 27, 2013 2:38 PM

  BATON ROUGE - The Department of Health and Hospitals has quietly released a new financial analysis that estimates the state could save as much as $368 million over 10 years by expanding Louisiana's Medicaid program under the federal health law. The analysis was posted on DHH's website this week with... more »

• Lawmaker blasts DHH secretary for not being at hearing Play Video

  March 26, 2013 10:32 AM

  BATON ROUGE - A state representative said it was "very irresponsible" that the head of the Department of Health and Hospitals was not at a budget hearing today to answer questions about a controversial Medicaid contract cancelled last week. Rep. Jim Fannin, the chair of the House Appropriations Committee,... more »

• Jindal cancels Medicaid contract under grand jury review

  March 21, 2013 4:53 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration is scrapping a lucrative state Medicaid contract that is the subject of a federal grand jury investigation. Commissioner of Administration Kristy Nichols issued a statement Thursday announcing the termination of the more than $185 million contract with Maryland-based CNSI. Nichols says she made... more »

• Former intern arrested on Medicaid fraud

  March 19, 2013 11:20 AM

  VILLE PLATTE - A 36-year-old Ville Platte man has been arrested on two counts of Medicaid fraud. The Louisiana Attorney General's Office said in news release Tuesday that Brady P. Hudspeth faces up to five years in prison and fines up to $20,000 on each count. Hudspeth was arrested Thursday... more »

• 2 former health chiefs push La. Medicaid expansion

  March 15, 2013 4:05 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Two former Louisiana health care secretaries are urging Gov. Bobby Jindal to reconsider his opposition to the Medicaid expansion allowed under the federal health overhaul. David Hood was secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals under Republican former Gov. Mike Foster. Fred Cerise was DHH secretary... more »

• Legislators hold hearing on federal health care law

  March 13, 2013 7:40 AM

  BATON ROUGE - This morning, state lawmakers plan to weigh the pros and cons of expanding Louisiana's Medicaid program to cover more uninsured adults. During the hearing, The Senate and House insurance committees will get information about the federal health care law that allows for the expansion. Gov.... more »

• State seeks to get back Medicaid money

  March 8, 2013 9:05 AM

  BATON ROUGE- State officials have confirmed plans to ask an appellate court to overturn a federal judge's order that says Louisiana owed the federal government $239.5 million for Medicaid overpayments between 1996 and 2007. Officials with the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals contend in court filings that the Centers... more »

• Landrieu: Jindal an obstructionist on Medicaid

  February 26, 2013 11:53 AM

  BATON ROUGE- U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu says Gov. Bobby Jindal's refusal to expand Louisiana's Medicaid program is tied to his presidential ambitions at the expense of benefits for Louisiana. The Democratic senator accused the Republican governor of obstructionism. Landrieu said Jindal seems adamant about putting his political future ahead of... more »

• Jindal says he won't reconsider Medicaid expansion

  February 14, 2013 3:38 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Gov. Bobby Jindal is holding firm to his decision not to expand Louisiana's Medicaid coverage under new health care reforms, despite the participation of several other Republican governors. Jindal said Thursday he won't be including the federal funding for a Medicaid expansion in his state budget proposal... more »

• Health care budget cuts begin this week

  January 28, 2013 5:57 PM

  BATON ROUGE - The state's Medicaid hospice care received a last-minute reprieve from shutdown, but Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration is moving ahead with other health care cuts this week. Slated for elimination are programs that provide behavioral health intervention services for at-risk children and that pay for at-home visits by... more »

• DHH: Hospice program to stay open, get reforms Play Video

  January 23, 2013 4:40 PM

  BATON ROUGE - State health officials announced late this afternoon that the Medicaid Hospice Program would not end on Feb. 1 as scheduled. Secretary Bruce Greenstein with the Dept. Of Health and Hospitals said enough money from existing grants had been found to keep the program going until reforms... more »

• Vigil planned to protest Medicaid hospice cut

  January 23, 2013 5:21 AM

  BATON ROUGE - Families of the terminally ill and health care workers are holding a protest of Gov. Bobby Jindal's plan to shutter the state's Medicaid hospice program in February. Supporters of the program, which provides at-home, end-of-life care for people who can't afford private insurance coverage, scheduled a... more »

• State budget deficit growing into billions Play Video

  January 18, 2013 6:17 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Lawmakers met at the capitol this morning, where they discussed the state budget and its growth. Members of the joint budget committee are optimistic because the state took in more money than expected last month. The state is short $1.2 billion though, and many lawmakers are... more »

• 2 women charged with Medicaid fraud

  January 18, 2013 6:47 AM

  BATON ROUGE - Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell says a personal care attendant from New Orleans and one from Bastrop have been booked with unrelated charges of Medicaid fraud. He says both 23-year-old Lakeiqua Green of New Orleans and 31-year-old Jolonda Huff of Bastrop are accused of submitting time-sheets... more »

• State's Medicaid contract gains in value

  January 9, 2013 7:12 AM

  BATON ROUGE - A $185 million multiyear contract with a company to take over the state's Medicaid claims processing is getting more lucrative. State Department of Health and Hospitals Undersecretary Jerry Phillips said an amendment will add about $8 million to the money CNSI will receive under its contract.... more »

• Baton Rouge woman booked with Medicaid fraud

  December 11, 2012 9:50 AM

  BATON ROUGE - A 34-year-old Baton Rouge woman has been booked with seven counts of Medicaid fraud for filing false claims. Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell says Angela A. Taylor was arrested by investigators from the Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit on Thursday. Caldwell says the complaint... more »

• Feds rule on health care law's Medicaid expansion

  December 10, 2012 3:30 PM

  WASHINGTON - The Obama administration says Republican-led states must commit to fully expanding their Medicaid programs to take advantage of generous funding in the federal health care law. Monday's ruling affects the federal-state program that covers nearly 60 million low-income and severely disabled people. President Barack Obama's health care law... more »

• Top Jindal aides use personal email to strategize

  December 10, 2012 9:30 AM

  BATON ROUGE - Top officials in Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration used personal email accounts to craft a media strategy for cutting Medicaid - a method of communication that can make it more difficult to track under public records laws. Jindal, now in his second term, has become a... more »

• Study: Obamacare good for states

  November 26, 2012 7:29 PM

  A new analysis of the President's health care reform law says states can get more than $9 in federal money for every dollar they spend to cover low-income residents. Two non-partisan groups, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Urban Institute made the declaration. The analysis also found states may spend... more »

• Pharmacists: Medicaid changes could shut them down

  October 30, 2012 10:35 AM

  BATON ROUGE - Community pharmacists say changes to Medicaid reimbursement rules don't address their complaints that the cuts could jeopardize their ability to remain open. The state's health secretary, Bruce Greenstein, said last week that revisions made in response to pharmacies' complaints should quell the backlash. But The Advocate reports... more »

• 6 La. residents arrested on Medicaid fraud charges

  October 19, 2012 10:32 AM

  BATON ROUGE - Six personal care attendants from northeast Louisiana are accused of scheming to defraud the state's Medicaid program. Louisiana Attorney General James "Buddy" Caldwell's office says the six are accused of submitting timesheets to their employer that falsely stated they provided in-home services to Medicaid patients who... more »

• $258M jury verdict for state of Louisiana upheld

  September 4, 2012 4:10 PM

  LAKE CHARLES - A $258 million judgment against health products maker Johnson & Johnson has been upheld by a state appeals court. A three-judge panel of the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal upheld a St. Landry Parish jury's decision that the company owed the money to the state for defrauding... more »

• AG: Man used fake diploma to get health care job

  August 15, 2012 4:50 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Authorities arrested the director of an adult day care facility in Baton Rouge after they got a tip he'd used a fake degree to get his job, according to the state Attorney General's Office. On Tuesday constables in Baton Rouge arrested Lee Earl Williams, Jr., 49,... more »

• Anti-Medicaid states: Earning $11,000 is too much

  August 14, 2012 10:18 AM

  MIAMI - Sandra Pico is poor, but not poor enough. She makes about $15,000 a year, supporting her Florida family. She thought she'd be getting health insurance after the Supreme Court upheld the health care law. Then she learned her own governor won't agree to expand Medicaid under the law... more »

• Congressman asks Jindal to expand La. Medicaid

  July 31, 2012 8:33 AM

  BATON ROUGE - A New Orleans congressman is asking Gov. Bobby Jindal to reconsider his position against expanding Louisiana's Medicaid program, as allowed under the federal health care overhaul. Democratic U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond sent the Republican governor a letter Monday saying as many as 400,000 Louisiana residents would... more »

• Patients, clinic brace for state healthcare cut impacts Play Video

  July 25, 2012 5:27 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Some people who rely on Medicaid say they're not sure what's next after hundreds of millions in federal funding cuts for the program in Louisiana. "We're very concerned because I see patients that are on Medicare, Medicaid,just indigent patients," said Dr. Ruth Smother. Last week... more »

• Joint committee questions tax breaks, health cuts

  July 23, 2012 10:19 AM

  BATON ROUGE - Lawmakers gathered in Baton Rouge today for a join budget committee meeting. On the agenda are questions about just how much the impact of the state's tax breaks are to the budget. Lawmakers also plan to question the Jindal administration about recent Medicaid cuts, most of... more »

• Jindal hoping for more revenue to fill budget gap

  July 17, 2012 5:42 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Even with $523 million in announced health care cuts, Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration has slashed only two-thirds of the spending needed to close the entire gap in Louisiana's Medicaid budget. The administration is banking on better-than-expected revenue projections to close the remaining budget hole. If that doesn't... more »

• 48 charged in massive Medicaid fraud case

  July 17, 2012 3:36 PM

  NEW YORK - A nationwide prescription drug ring bought mountains of HIV medications and other drugs from down-and-out Medicaid recipients in New York City, then marketed the pills to pharmacies that dispensed them to unsuspecting consumers, authorities said Tuesday. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan detailed the scheme at a news conference... more »

• Moody's takes note of La. Medicaid cut

  July 17, 2012 10:46 AM

  BATON ROUGE - Moody's Investors Service says Louisiana's loss of as much as $859 million in Medicaid financing is a "credit negative" for the state. The notation from the bond-rating agency does not yet affect the state government bond rating - currently high investment grade and stable - but denotes... more »

• Democratic Party chair says expect more problems because of health cuts Play Video

  July 16, 2012 5:45 PM

  BATON ROUGE- Senator Karen Carter Peterson, D- New Orleans, says state leaders should have done more to prevent a federal Medicaid reduction. The reduction will cost the LSU Health System $317 million dollars. Peterson says the reduction will cost everyone because it will prevent care on the front end,... more »

• State announces health cuts from Medicaid loss Play Video

  July 13, 2012 3:42 PM

  BATON ROUGE - LSU's system of public and charity hospitals and clinics face the deepest cuts in Louisiana's plans on how to deal with the loss of $859 million in federal Medicaid funding. The system will lose $316.5 million in funding, the bulk of the $523 million in cuts... more »

• Feds say states have time to decide on Medicaid

  July 13, 2012 11:14 AM

  WASHINGTON- Administration officials are telling the states there's no pressure to decide whether to expand Medicaid for their low-income residents under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law. The Supreme Court gave states the option of accepting or rejecting the Medicaid expansion. It's designed to cover about 15 million low-income... more »

• La. health secretary says cuts expected by Friday

  July 11, 2012 7:33 AM

  BATON ROUGE - Health and Hospitals Secretary Bruce Greenstein says he expects to announce by Friday how he'll divvy up $859 million in cuts to Louisiana's Medicaid program. The cut is tied to a congressional reduction in Louisiana's federal Medicaid financing rate. Greenstein didn't offer details Tuesday about... more »

• Tone changes in Jindal administration over cuts

  July 3, 2012 6:19 PM

  BATON ROUGE - When a bloc of conservative state lawmakers pushed to strip money from the health department, the Jindal administration outcry was loud, suggesting the cuts could devastate health care services. A month later, the $859 million in budget cuts hitting the Medicaid program from new congressional action are... more »

• East Baton Rouge schools may end retiree insurance

  June 29, 2012 9:33 AM

  BATON ROUGE - The East Baton Rouge Parish school system may end offering supplemental health insurance to almost 2,700 retired employees. The Advocate reports the move would save the school system an estimated $8.7 million a year. Instead, the school board is considering paying money into Medicare for retirees. The... more »

• Health care arguments: Now what about Medicaid?

  March 28, 2012 1:22 PM

  WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court's liberal justices are making clear they will vote to uphold the massive expansion of the Medicaid program for low-income Americans that is part of the health care overhaul. In the finale of three days of arguments over President Barack Obama's health care law, the justices... more »

• La. Medicaid trial dates set

  March 26, 2012 7:44 AM

  BATON ROUGE - A lawsuit that the state Attorney General's Office filed in 2010 against more than 100 drug manufacturers, alleging they illegally inflated prescription drug costs paid by Louisiana taxpayers through the Medicaid program, is headed to trial next year. State District Judge Wilson Fields has set a series... more »

• Owners of Hammond personal care business indicted in Medicaid fraud scheme

  February 14, 2012 3:02 PM

  BATON ROUGE- A Baton Rouge grand jury has returned indictments against the owners of a Hammond personal care business for their role in operating a criminal enterprise designed to siphon dollars from the Louisiana Medicaid Program. Several of the owners family members were also charged for their involvement in... more »

• La.'s new Medicaid managed care program begins

  February 1, 2012 2:13 PM

  BATON ROUGE, La. - Louisiana's Medicaid program is starting to provide health care through private managed care networks in nine parishes around New Orleans, the first step in a sweeping revamp of the program that provides care to the poor. The insurance-based model, called Bayou Health, launched Wednesday in southeast... more »

• Firms seek customers for plans in Medicaid

  December 19, 2011 2:32 PM

  BATON ROUGE, La. - Private health plans are offering a wide array of incentives to get Medicaid recipients to enroll with them. Incentives include free Weight Watchers meetings and Boys and Girls Club memberships, prepaid debit cards, entertainment vouchers and more. Five different companies are vying for the business of... more »

• Federal officials approve La. Medicaid changes

  November 16, 2011 6:24 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Federal health care officials have approved the Jindal administration's plan to overhaul Louisiana's Medicaid program and run much of the program through managed care networks. State Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Bruce Greenstein announced the approval Wednesday of the program being called BAYOU HEALTH. ... more »

• La. Medicaid program has $127M shortfall

  November 1, 2011 5:54 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Louisiana's Medicaid program for the poor, elderly and disabled has a nearly $127 million state funding shortfall. The state health department announced the deficit figure Tuesday. But the Department of Health and Hospitals says it will use available federal funds to plug much of the gap,... more »

• Health chief predicts insurance problems

  October 13, 2011 2:30 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Louisiana's health chief says President Barack Obama's health-care program will result in the "cannibalization" of private health insurance by 2014. State Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Bruce Greenstein said the national health-care revamp would increase Louisiana's Medicaid rolls by 467,000 people - about 187,000 of... more »

• Aetna seeks release of rivals' proposals

  October 11, 2011 2:04 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Aetna Better Health has gone to court, opposing efforts by three insurance competitors to keep secret proposals they made as they sought to take over state Medicaid business. Aetna asked the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal to affirm a ruling by state District Court Judge Todd... more »

• Home health care providers say audits are unfair

  October 4, 2011 4:10 PM

  BATON ROUGE - In-home health providers who take care of Louisiana Medicaid patients say they have been unfairly targeted by health department audits that claimed they owed $4.2 million in overpayments and fines. Nearly every provider sanctioned by the audits is appealing the decision. Jacquelyn Blaney, who runs a... more »

• Personal care services agency owner arrested

  July 26, 2011 11:33 AM

  BATON ROUGE - The owner of a personal care services agency has been arrested and booked with defrauding the state's Medicaid program. Attorney General Buddy Caldwell says Patricia A. Bell of Rayville surrendered to authorities last week. He says Bell, the owner of Cookies Helping Hand Inc., was charged... more »

• DHH chooses 5 firms to run managed care networks

  July 25, 2011 2:28 PM

  BATON ROUGE - The state health department has tapped five private companies to run much of Louisiana's Medicaid program in managed care networks. The "coordinated care network" contractors were announced Monday. The insurance-based model will begin in the New Orleans area Jan. 1. Under one option, the networks... more »

• 51 arrested in Medicaid prescription probe

  June 23, 2011 3:12 AM

  BATON ROUGE- Fifty-one people have been arrested in connection with a Medicaid fraud investigation in Louisiana. The state attorney general says 50 of those arrested were Medicaid recipients. The other was a former pharmacist in Metairie. Attorney General James "Buddy" Caldwell says charges include Medicaid fraud and dispensing dangerous drugs... more »

• Woman faces 10 years in Medicaid fraud

  June 9, 2011 2:30 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - A New Orleans-area woman has pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the Medicaid program out of millions of dollars. U.S. Attorney Jim Letten's office says 40-year-old Terra Washington, of Marrero, entered the plea Wednesday to one count of conspiring to commit health care fraud. U.S. District... more »

• DHH Secretary contract controversy

  June 8, 2011 5:57 PM

  BATON ROUGE- State Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Bruce Greenstein's confirmation hearing today resulted in a major debate with lawmakers. As part of the hearing lawmakers blasted him for withholding an announcement involving the state Medicaid contract. He later released the information in the meeting, confirming that the... more »

• DHH chief's former employer tapped for $34M contract

  June 8, 2011 2:22 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Under intense pressure from state senators, Louisiana Health and Hospitals Secretary Bruce Greenstein has acknowledged that his department wants to hire his former employer for a $34 million state Medicaid contract. Greenstein announced the recommended selection of CNSI on Wednesday before the Senate and Governmental Affairs... more »

• La. House committee approves ban on abortions

  May 24, 2011 1:01 PM

  BATON ROUGE, La. - A proposal to ban abortions in Louisiana has won approval from a House health care committee. Republican John LaBruzzo, of Metairie, says his bill would threaten the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling by prompting lawsuits from pro-choice groups. The measure would... more »

• Medicaid program linked to sale of La. prisons

  March 30, 2011 11:38 AM

  BATON ROUGE- The governor's budget uses nearly $86 million from the sale of three state prisons to plug into the Medicaid program and generate millions in additional federal matching cash. Problem is, the prison sales haven't been approved by lawmakers, and if they refuse, that could strip dollars that... more »

• Jindal Medicaid revamp hits wall of criticism

  January 19, 2011 2:49 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Gov. Bobby Jindal's plan to turn over large chunks of Louisiana's Medicaid program to private managed care companies is coming under heavy criticism from lawmakers and health providers. They say the plan will divert resources to insurance company profits and away from health services. Health and Hospitals... more »

• Latest Medicaid shortfall won't prompt cuts

  January 3, 2011 6:04 PM

  BATON ROUGE - The state health department will reshuffle dollars within its budget to fill a new $19 million shortfall that has emerged in the state's Medicaid program, without making new budget cuts. The department also plans to reverse cuts to the Medicaid rates paid to hospitals for taking care... more »

• La. gets $3.5M Medicaid bonus

  December 29, 2010 10:16 AM

  BATON ROUGE- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services gives Louisiana a $3.5 million performance bonus for "significant progress in enrolling uninsured children in Medicaid." State Medicaid director Don Gregory tells The Advocate that Louisiana didn't expand eligibility - it did a better job of enrolling eligible children.... more »

• LA gets performance bonus from federal government

  December 28, 2010 5:47 PM

  The number of children enrolled in the Louisiana Medicaid program is up.Now Louisiana is receiving a performance bonus from the federal government. State health officials say they were given notice of the $3.5 million dollar bonus today. Louisiana is one of 15 states receiving this type of award. ... more »

• La. gets bonus for uninsured children on Medicaid

  December 27, 2010 11:36 AM

  BATON ROUGE- Louisiana is awarded $3.5 million for making progress in enrolling uninsured children in Medicaid. Our State is one of 15, to share $206 million. Funding for the "performance bonuses" was included in the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization (CHIPRA) legislation signed into law by President Obama earlier... more »

• Bidding process slated for La. Medicaid business

  December 13, 2010 8:23 AM

  BATON ROUGE - The Jindal administration has decided to seek competitive proposals from health insurance companies that want to offer taxpayer-funded policies to about 830,000 Medicaid patients, mostly children. The Advocate reports the change came after physicians, hospitals and other health-care providers objected to the initial plan, which allowed... more »

• Health department to rework CommunityCare program

  November 22, 2010 12:19 PM

  BATON ROUGE- The Jindal administration plans to revamp, rather than scrap, a Medicaid program that links poor children with physicians who manage their care. State Health and Hospitals Secretary Bruce Greenstein says the reworked program will have a "pay for performance" feature, in which doctors get more money if... more »

• State says healthcare revamp won't start until 2011

  November 18, 2010 3:36 PM

  BATON ROUGE - State health secretary Bruce Greenstein says it will be the end of 2011 before the state starts a new health care delivery system for the poor. The Advocate reports that Greenstein said Wednesday the Jindal administration is not backing off the proposed "coordinated care" plan, which would... more »

• DHH holds off on Medicaid cuts

  October 25, 2010 10:22 PM

  The Department of Health and Hospitals has halted plans to overhaul Medicaid. There are questions, however, about how long those plans will be haulted, when DHH wants the new plan in place and what that will mean for patients. DHH secretary Bruce Greenstein said when the changes take... more »

• Medicaid managed care program stalled for now

  October 25, 2010 2:36 PM

  The state's health secretary says he doesn't have a new timeline for when the Jindal administration plans to begin changes to the way Louisiana delivers health care to the poor through the Medicaid program. Concerns by health providers and lawmakers stalled the pilot program, which was supposed to begin in... more »

• Groups fight La. Gov. Jindal's Medicaid plan

  October 19, 2010 6:29 AM

  Hospitals, emergency responders, physicians and other medical providers have stepped up their opposition to the Jindal administration's planned restructuring of the state's Medicaid program. The Louisiana Ambulance Alliance, Louisiana Hospital Association, Louisiana State Medical Society and other groups announced the organization of the Coalition to Protect Louisiana's Healthcare to challenge... more »

• LA Doctors required to repay millions to Medicaid

  September 9, 2010 10:48 AM

  Thousands of Louisiana doctors must repay $17 million in overpayments they received from the state last year because the Department of Health and Hospitals failed to make Medicaid budget cuts on time. The physicians who provide health care for the poor through the government health insurance program will start getting... more »

• Millions returned to state and federal Medicaid program

  August 4, 2010 10:36 AM

  The Louisiana Attorney General's Office Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) has returned $44,919,842.78 to the state and federal Medicaid Program. The money was a result of fraudulent payments to the Medicaid Program, as well as the State's participation in various multi-state settlements such as the Pfizer settlement in which... more »

• Medicaid cuts begin Sunday

  July 29, 2010 11:21 AM

  Sunday, rates paid to private health providers in Louisiana's Medicaid program will begin to shrink. The cuts come, as part of a $280 million cut to the program that provides care to the poor, elderly and disabled. It trims spending by $168 million and is the final piece of... more »

• La. Medicaid providers face rate cuts

  July 6, 2010 10:49 AM

  As the state's Medicaid rolls continue to climb, Louisiana's health agency will have $280 million less in this new budget year to cover the cost of care for patients. Louisiana's health chief says that spells trouble. The Medicaid budget for the fiscal year that began last week stands... more »

• La. health plan to undergo major changes

  June 29, 2010 5:45 PM

  The health plan covering more than a million Louisianians will undergo major changes next year. Alan Levine, Secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals, says if the current Medicaid system isn't reformed, it will turn into a "financial train wreck." News 2's Luke Margolis got answers from... more »