Letter: Health-care planning for Louisiana
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Re: “Health-care plan called misdiagnosis,” The Advocate, Dec. 3
While this story accurately represented some of the opinions voiced at the Medicaid Reform Advisory Group meeting Dec. 2, it also left important parts of the story untold.
Much of the feedback from the advisory group on the Health First Concept Paper expresses strong support of the design principles it lays out. Moving from a traditional fee-for-service system to a system that uses bundled payments to help drive better care at a lower cost is policy that is strongly encouraged by some of the most respected authorities on health policy, such as the Commonwealth Fund and the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission.
In addition, the majority of health-care opinion leaders across the country feel bundled payments would be an effective or very effective policy strategy in improving health system performance.
The managed-care approach, while new to Louisiana, has already been embraced by most other states’ Medicaid programs, and is far from experimental.
The support of health-care provider groups will be important to achieve if Louisiana is to succeed in making these reforms, and the program must be implemented in a way that models the best of other states’ experiences with managed care, and avoids the shortcomings.
The Advisory Group is one forum Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Alan Levine has created where important implementation details should be discussed, such as ensuring safeguards are built in that protect physicians’ reimbursement and their ability to make patient-care decisions that are consistent with evidence-based practices.
There is overwhelming evidence that Louisiana can get better health for its health-care dollar if we can effectively navigate the sometimes rough waters of change.
Clayton Williams
member of Louisiana Medicaid Reform Advisory Group and director of Health Systems Development, Louisiana Public Health Institute
New Orleans
While this story accurately represented some of the opinions voiced at the Medicaid Reform Advisory Group meeting Dec. 2, it also left important parts of the story untold.
Much of the feedback from the advisory group on the Health First Concept Paper expresses strong support of the design principles it lays out. Moving from a traditional fee-for-service system to a system that uses bundled payments to help drive better care at a lower cost is policy that is strongly encouraged by some of the most respected authorities on health policy, such as the Commonwealth Fund and the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission.
In addition, the majority of health-care opinion leaders across the country feel bundled payments would be an effective or very effective policy strategy in improving health system performance.
The managed-care approach, while new to Louisiana, has already been embraced by most other states’ Medicaid programs, and is far from experimental.
The support of health-care provider groups will be important to achieve if Louisiana is to succeed in making these reforms, and the program must be implemented in a way that models the best of other states’ experiences with managed care, and avoids the shortcomings.
The Advisory Group is one forum Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Alan Levine has created where important implementation details should be discussed, such as ensuring safeguards are built in that protect physicians’ reimbursement and their ability to make patient-care decisions that are consistent with evidence-based practices.
There is overwhelming evidence that Louisiana can get better health for its health-care dollar if we can effectively navigate the sometimes rough waters of change.
Clayton Williams
member of Louisiana Medicaid Reform Advisory Group and director of Health Systems Development, Louisiana Public Health Institute
New Orleans
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