[StBernard] Governor Blanco announces $161 million in federal health care grants for Louisiana's recovery

[Westley Annis]

Governor Blanco announces $161 million in federal health care grants for Louisiana's recovery

BATON ROUGE - Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is making $195 million in grants available to improve health care in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina, including $161 million for Louisiana. 

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

Gov. Blanco said the proposed state budget for next year includes more than $320 million in enhancements to the health care delivery system. The new money will support the development of medical homes in Louisiana ($25 million), expand insura! nce coverage for children through the Louisiana Children's Health Insurance Program ($31 million), increase the reimbursements paid to physicians to help recruit more doctors into the Medicaid program ($64 million), expand services to people with disabilities and mental illnesses ($78 million), allow more families to purchase insurance coverage through Medicaid ($3 million), and $120 million in an uncompensated care pool to reimburse hospitals for caring for more uninsured.

Of the $195 million in federal HHS grants, $100 million will be allocated to Louisiana for public and not-for-profit clinics that provide primary care to low-income and uninsured residents in the Greater New Orleans area. An additional $60 million will go to the states of 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 Greater New Orleans area in recruiting and reta ining health care workers. 

This new grant follows earlier appeals to the federal government. The administration's successful efforts to secure past funding includes a grant to recruit physicians to New Orleans, funding that will allow providers to receive greater reimbursements from Medicare and funds to provide more addiction treatment clinics and crisis counseling services.

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The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation
Louisiana's Fund for Louisiana's People
www.louisianahelp.org