Gov. John Bel Edwards has given the private operators of the LSU hospitals and clinics until Thursday, Sept. 15, to decide if they agree to the renegotiated terms of their financing deals with the state, The Associated Press reports.
The “public/private partners” took over the safety net services LSU previously provided to the poor and uninsured.
In speaking with the LSU Board of Supervisors, Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne wouldn’t provide details about what changes are proposed. But he has said negotiations are over and the terms offered are final.
Dardenne says “a number of partners” already have agreed to the proposals but none have yet signed the official documents.
For those hospital and clinic managers that agree to the Edwards administration’s proposals, the reworked terms will be included in a memorandum of understanding—a document that lays out the terms in principle—while final updated contracts will be drawn up in the coming months.
No LSU board member asked questions about the proposals at today’s meeting.
Former Gov. Bobby Jindal privatized nine LSU-run hospitals and their clinics through no-bid contracts, with the earliest deal starting in April 2013. In most instances, the management company of a nearby hospital took over operations. Three hospitals—one each in Baton Rouge, Lake Charles and Pineville—closed under their contracts and their services were shifted to private hospitals.
The Edwards administration says the Jindal deals were too hastily slapped together, too costly, and with terms that aren’t favorable to the state. The providers who took over the LSU safety net services have asked for more money from the state each year since the contracts began.
“Our objective was to create some standard provisions in all of them, which we were able to do,” Dardenne said, adding that he plans to unveil the new arrangements after next week’s deadline.
