The privatized state hospitals that care for Louisiana’s uninsured patients are likely to take steep financing reductions over the next four months that could lead to rationed patient care and lengthy wait times for services, lawmakers were told today.
The Associated Press reports Jeff Reynolds, chief financial officer for the state Department of Health and Hospitals, told the House Appropriations Committee the best-case scenario of cuts his agency faces to help rebalance Louisiana’s budget would strip about $130 million from the payments to hospital operators before June 30.
The hospital managers would have to reduce patient care in response, which could cause long delays for appointments, Reynolds says. Or the managers could scrap their contracts entirely.
“There is a threat that the public/private partners could walk,” Reynolds says.
And that’s if lawmakers gathered in a special session agree to raise taxes and to use the short-term patches proposed by Gov. John Bel Edwards to rebalance this year’s $25 billion budget, which has a shortfall ranging from $850 million to $950 million.
Reynolds says even with the money that would be raised from the governor’s proposals, the health department faces a $64 million cut before June 30, which grows to $169 million with lost federal matching cash. The health department will start making the cuts next week.
Much of that will be levied on the hospitals, Reynolds says.
Jared Stark, CEO of the state-owned hospital in Lafayette, says the likely cuts “would drastically reduce services.” He and other hospital managers wouldn’t commit to whether they would continue with the deals if the reductions happen.
If the privatization deals fall apart, LSU—which previously ran the facilities—would have to take over the services, though it is unclear how they would manage the hospitals or the uninsured services that have been shifted to private hospitals.
In addition to the hospital cuts, Reynolds says mental health facilities will suffer cuts and a pediatric day care program that cares for “medically fragile children” will be shuttered.
“It saddens me that we’re in this situation,” says Rep. Patricia Smith, D-Baton Rouge.
