March 19, 2007 Louisiana in Group to Test Health Care Return on Investment Potential

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Mar 19, 2007 -

Baton Rouge – Louisiana has been chosen as one of eight states to participate in a new initiative designed to increase the value of dollars spent on health care.  The initiative, called the Return on Investment Purchasing Institute, will take place over a 12-month period and will measure the state’s ability to return a profit on investments in quality improvement in the Medicaid program.

“We feel very fortunate to be included in this initiative,” said LDH Secretary Dr. Fred Cerise.  “Since Hurricane Katrina, a key component of our redesign effort has been improving the quality in Medicaid services.  We embrace this opportunity to gauge what initiatives will allow us to improve clinical outcomes while controlling health care costs at the same time.”

For example, the current effort to redesign Louisiana's health care system involves linking all citizens to a medical home for primary and preventive care. Participation in this initiative will enable LDH to best gauge improvements in outcomes and costs of programs such as this.

The other states that will be participating are Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Washington. 

State teams will evaluate return on investment potential for quality initiatives, and then analyze results for program planning and resource allocation.  The members will attend two Purchasing Institute meetings, receive technical assistance, and attend a return on investment summit with the Medicaid policy community.

This initiative is being launched by a nonprofit organization called the Center for Health Care Strategies.