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Louisiana has country’s highest rates of West Nile Virus
The Louisiana Department of Health is urging the state’s residents to take precautions to guard against West Nile Virus after Louisiana has reported the most cases of the virus in the country.
LDH News
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New Report Shows Medicaid Expansion Cuts Uninsured Rate in Half
Today, Gov. John Bel Edwards praised a report showing that the number of residents who are uninsured has fallen to half of what it was in 2015 and more Louisianans are getting better access to care since Louisiana expanded Medicaid, according to the 2017 Louisiana Health Insurance Survey.
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Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards Announces Multi-Agency Campaign to Improve Coastal Resilience
Citing the critical danger posed by storm surge and resulting flooding, La. Gov. John Bel Edwards today announced the Interagency Coastal Storm Surge-Based Flood Risk and Resilience Awareness Campaign, a partnership of state agencies to use “Story Maps” to promote awareness of Louisiana’s Comprehensive Coastal Master Plan. The Master Plan is the foundational document underlying the campaign, as it identifies the risk to state infrastructure such as roads and bridges; and to services, facilities and systems for health care and education.
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Louisiana audit staff walks back comments about sloppy Medicaid program
Legislative auditor Daryl Purpera appears to be retreating from comments he made describing the Louisiana Department of Health's oversight of its Medicaid program as sloppy and "a mess" last month.
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Louisiana Department of Health seeking comments on innovative subscription-based payment model for Hepatitis C drugs
Hepatitis C kills more Americans than any other infectious disease. About 30,000 people in Louisiana's Medicaid program and prison system are carrying Hepatitis C. Nationally rates of new infections are growing dramatically as a result of the opioid epidemic.
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Louisiana Department of Health bolsters oversight of Medicaid managed care plans
Recent reviews of the five private health plans administering the Louisiana Department of Health’s Medicaid Healthy Louisiana (or managed care plans) found inaccurate records for the providers enrolled in each of the respective health plans.
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Health Department Responds to Most Recent Audit
In its most recent audit of the Louisiana Department of Health and the Attorney General’s office about the Medicaid Fraud Fund, the Louisiana Legislative Auditor cited both agency’s management of the fund. The audit said both the state health department and the AG need to develop more effective processes to identify and ensure that the appropriate funds are deposited into the fund.
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Our Views: Big step for disabled in Louisiana
Secretary of Health Dr. Rebekah Gee announced the state had finally done away with the waiting list and ensured that every eligible person who was in line asking for help from the state had received some form of assistance.
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Don’t leave your child unattended in a hot car
Yesterday, a child in Texas and one in Connecticut died after overheating in a hot car. These deaths followed similar incidents from earlier in the week where a 17-month-old child died in Florida after the boy was left unattended in a parked car, and in Louisiana where emergency responders had to break a window of a parked car to rescue a child who had also been left alone.
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Louisiana reports first human West Nile virus cases for 2018
The Louisiana Department of Health today reported the first human cases of West Nile virus for this year. These initial cases are listed in this year’s first weekly Arboviral Report and shows six WNV infections, distributed as follows: • Three cases of neuroinvasive disease: one case each in DeSoto, St. Tammany and Tangipahoa parishes, • Two cases of fever: one each in East Baton Rouge and Ouachita parishes, and • One asymptomatic case in East Baton Rouge Parish that was diagnosed because of a blood donation.
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State Health Department closes Shreveport fish market for repeated health violations
Yesterday, the Louisiana Department of Health issued a closure order to Dupont Fish Market, located at 161 N. Market St. in Shreveport, after health inspections found multiple critical violations.
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New approach to home and community based services ends wait for thousands of citizens with developmental disabilities
Through an innovative approach to providing services to people with developmental disabilities, the Louisiana Department of Health is effectively ending the 25-year-old waiting list for specialized home and community-based services. This new plan prioritizes the needs of people instead of the date they applied for services.