March 28, 2006 Final Meeting of Health Care Reform Panel to be HeldEffort to reform health care in La. remains a priority

BATON ROUGE, Mar 28, 2006 - Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco’s Health Care Reform Panel will hold its final regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday, March 30.  The meeting, which will take place at the State Capitol in Baton Rouge, will mark the end of the two-year process that brought together national health care experts, state legislative and government leaders, business leaders, and a representative from each of the nine health care regions of Louisiana.

Although there will be no more official panel meetings, the national health care experts who were involved have agreed to remain engaged and available as needed to offer their assistance to Louisiana in the reform process.

“As we embark upon the final official meeting of the panel, I offer my sincere appreciation for the advice, policy analysis and expertise provided by the panel members throughout this process,” Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco said.  “This meeting does not mark the end of health care reform in Louisiana.  The recent disasters illuminated the need to improve health care delivery across the state. The panel’s invaluable input and recommendations will continue to guide me and the Department of Health in our efforts to further improve Louisiana’s health care delivery system.”
 
At the meeting, updates will be given on the panel’s focus areas of covering the uninsured, improving and restructuring the system of long-term care, and ensuring mental health system transformation, all hallmark areas of the original plan submitted to the panel in June 2004.  These also were items that were addressed jointly by the panel and the La. Recovery Authority’s Public Health and Health Care Task Force at the December meeting, a meeting held to update LRA Task Force members and to ensure a smooth transition.

For more information on the Governor’s Health Care Reform Panel, visit www.dhh.louisiana.gov.


    WHAT:      Governor’s Health Care Reform Panel Meeting

    WHERE:     Louisiana State Capitol, 4th Floor, Governor’s Press Room

    WHEN:      Thursday, March 30, 2006
                     8:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.


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