Louisiana Gov. Jindal's administration asks State Senate to restore millions in health care budget cuts

The administration of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) on Monday called on state senators to restore millions of dollars in health care program cuts that were approved last week by the House, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. The House approved a $30 billion state budget for fiscal year 2009 that includes $240 million less than Jindal's proposed budget.

State general fund spending next year is expected to increase by nearly $900 million, or by 11%, with the largest portion of growth in Medicaid. Jindal's original budget called for a $600 million increase in Medicaid funding, including about $21 million for new initiatives. The House Appropriations Committee cut the spending increase by $183 million but did not specify where the reductions would come from (Moller, New Orleans Times-Picayune, 5/20). The cuts include state and federal matching funds. State Rep. Jim Fannin (D), who is sponsoring the bill, said the cuts are justified because the state did not spend $183 million in Medicaid funds for providers this year and $218 million in Medicaid provider funds last year (Millhollon, Baton Rouge Advocate, 5/19).

However, state Health and Hospitals Secretary Alan Levine in a letter to House and Senate leaders wrote that the cuts would affect a wide range of health care providers, and the biggest reductions would be for hospitals, nursing homes and pharmacies (New Orleans Times-Picayune, 5/20). In the letter, Levine wrote that implementing the Medicaid cuts would require a $38 million reduction in payments to inpatient hospitals, a $11.5 million reduction in payments to outpatient hospitals, $38.6 million in payment cuts to nursing homes and $38 million in cuts to the pharmacy program. Other cuts would include programs for the disabled, according to Levine (Shuler, Baton Rouge Advocate, 5/20).