Louisiana, Federal Officials Must Reach Consensus On Number Of Uninsured Residents, Letter States

March 31, 2007 – 11:10 am | posted in Health Insurance

Federal and Louisiana officials must determine the number of state residents who lack health insurance and the amount of funds available to provide them with private coverage, according to a letter drafted by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) and signed by the nine-member state congressional delegation, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. Federal and state officials, as well as private health care groups, have released different estimates for the figures. Estimates for the number of state residents who lack health insurance range from 590,000 to more than 800,000. In addition, although federal officials estimate that funds currently paid to the Charity Hospital system could provide 319,000 state residents with private health insurance, state officials consider the estimate “too optimistic,” the Times-Picayune reports. According to the letter, sent on Monday to HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt and state Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Fred Cerise, a “fundamental disagreement about these statistics has been a major obstacle that has prevented both health care redesign and the building of an appropriate tertiary care facility from moving forward.” The letter recommended that Leavitt and Cerise establish a “technical working group” to reach agreement on the figures (Moller, New Orleans Times-Picayune, 3/27). Leavitt and Cerise were unavailable for comment, but state DHH spokesperson Bob Johannessen said that federal and state officials have sought to reach agreement on the figures (Shields, Baton Rouge Advocate, 3/27). Leavitt Details Efforts To Improve Health Care Access
In related news, Leavitt on March 21 sent a letter to the House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee that detailed efforts by HHS and state and local officials in Louisiana to improve access to health care in areas most affected by Hurricane Katrina. According to Leavitt, HHS has authorized $15 million of the federal funds that remain for state payments to recruit and retain health care workers in the New Orleans area. HHS also has begun to review Medicare graduate medical education payments in response to comments that additional funds would help retain a significant number of medical interns and residents, Leavitt wrote. Subcommittee Chair Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) said, “As became apparent during our hearings, while long-term solutions are needed to repair New Orleans’ health care infrastructure, immediate relief is also needed for the residents of the Gulf Coast who lack access to health care” (Carey, CQ HealthBeat, 3/23).

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