LDH News

Louisiana is preparing for flooding in many regions throughout the state due to Tropical Storm Barry. The Louisiana Department of Health advises all Louisiana residents to be aware of the dangers floodwater poses and to take all appropriate precautions.

The Louisiana Department of Health closed oyster beds in areas 1-22 beginning in advance of the landfall of Tropical Storm Barry. This includes areas from Lake Borgne to the mouth of the Atchafalaya River.

LDH Secretary Dr. Rebekah Gee was a recent guest on the @CDCFoundation’s new Contagious Conversations podcast, where she discussed the fight for healthier communities at the state level. Click here or subscribe via your favorite podcasting app.

BATON ROUGE (July 8, 2019): The Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) is urging the people of Louisiana to monitor the forecast over the next several days due to possible tropical development in the Gulf of Mexico. According to the National Hurricane Center, a trough of low pressure located over central Georgia is forecast to move southward toward the northeastern Gulf of Mexico, where a broad area of low pressure is expected to form in a couple of days.

The Louisiana Department of Health today announced the closure of oyster harvest areas 1, 2 and a portion of area 3. This is a precautionary closure due to low salinity levels negatively affecting oyster health.

The Louisiana Department of Health today announced that fewer people have been diagnosed with an HIV infection in the past year than in any of the previous 10 years.

Effective July 1, 2019 in order to comply with the requirements of HCR 5, the department amends the provisions governing the reimbursement methodology for inpatient hospital services to increase outlier pool payments.

Effective July 1, 2019 in order to comply with the requirements of Act 299 of the 2019 Regular Legislative Session, the department amends the provisions governing the Ground Ambulance Provider Fees and Enhanced Reimbursements for Qualifying Ground Ambulance Service payments.

Today the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved Louisiana’s Medicaid State Plan Amendment (SPA) authorizing the state to negotiate supplemental rebate agreements from prescription drug manufacturers. The SPA permits the state to negotiate supplemental rebate agreements using a new “modified subscription” model that initially focuses on antiviral agents for hepatitis C and that promotes eliminating the hepatitis C virus statewide.