LSU to seek partnerships to run public hospitals | NOLA.com

Baton Rouge ? Louisiana State University?s health-care system will start seeking private firms to partner with its hospitals, even as the system?s new chief eyes steeper financial cuts for the medical centers. Dr. Frank Opelka, LSU?s executive vice president for health care and medical education redesign, told the LSU Board of Supervisors on Friday that the prospect of long-term funding shortages calls for cuts to programs and services at the state?s public hospitals that go beyond proposals announced in July. ?We?re reviewing the plan as we?re implementing it to see if we can?t go further,? he said.

Opelka did not give any details about where those cuts would come from or how quickly they would be implemented, but he said the proposed changes are expected to be ready by the end of the month.

The announcement of more cuts for public health services came as the board gave the go-ahead for health-care officials to begin developing ?requests for proposals? to find private firms willing to partner with the state?s hospitals. The board originally planned to put out requests only for the hospitals in Shreveport, Monroe and Alexandria, but that was expanded during the meeting to include all hospitals in the LSU system, including the University Medical Center under construction in New Orleans.

The cuts already announced for the LSU hospital system stem from a change in the state?s Medicaid reimbursement rate. The state Department of Health and Hospitals told the public hospital system it would need to reduce its budget by $329 million as a result of that cut.

Health officials under the leadership of Dr. Fred Cerise, who was then the top health-care official in the LSU system, began implementing a plan that would result in $50 million in cuts with the difference made up by tapping funds that had been used for other purposes, such as physician recruitment. Cerise was sidelined two weeks ago when interim LSU System President William Jenkins created a new position above him for Opelka.

Under the Cerise plan the 10-hospital system is scheduled to reduce outpatient visits by about 79,000 and provide about 12,400 fewer days of in-hospital care. The Lallie Kemp Regional Medical Center in Independence saw its cancer center eliminated and its staff and women?s health services cut. William O. Moss Regional Medical Center in Lake Charles is reducing clinical operations and has eliminated all but 10 of its beds.

Opelka said he is working with the leadership within the hospital system to come up with plans for additional cuts and for the partnerships. He said a consultant will be brought in once it is clear what kind of assistance is necessary. He said he is in daily contact with Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Bruce Greenstein to ensure that the two agencies? plans for the future of health care in Louisiana fit together.

The plan to seek partners for the hospitals has been part of the discussions of how to deal with the Medicaid reduction since it was first announced, though an official request has never been sent out soliciting partners. It was not clear Friday what kind of reception it will get. Cerise had warned system officials that partnerships do not happen overnight and could take years to fully implement.

Brad Ott, an opponent of the University Medical Center plan, spoke briefly during the meeting, warning that an attempt to take the medical center private would result in even stronger and more widespread opposition to the project and, because it involved expropriation of land, could run afoul of rules against taking private property for private gain.

Jeff Adelson can be reached at jadelson@timespicayune.com or 225.342.5207.

Source: http://www.nola.com/health/index.ssf/2012/09/lsu_to_seek_public-private_par.html

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