DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part of
the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute part of
the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
Smith HB No. 233
Abstract: Provides that eligibility standards for the La. Medicaid program shall conform to
those established by the Affordable Care Act and requires reporting of program outcomes
to the legislative committees on health and welfare and to the governor.
Proposed law requires the secretary of DHH to take such actions as are necessary to expand
Louisiana's Medicaid eligibility standards to conform to those established by the Affordable Care
Act (ACA) commencing on January 1, 2014. Provides that such actions by the secretary shall
include:
(1)On or before September 1, 2013, filing of the Medicaid state plan amendment necessary
to expand Medicaid eligibility in accordance with proposed law.
(2)On or before September 1, 2013, promulgating all rules and regulations as are necessary
to expand Medicaid eligibility in accordance with proposed law.
Proposed law declares that the purposes of the state in expanding Medicaid eligibility as
provided in proposed law are as follows:
(1)To maximize the number of Louisianians who are covered by some form of health
insurance.
(2)To provide basic health coverage to the working poor of the state who are not offered
insurance through their employer and do not earn enough money to meet basic family
needs and pay for private health insurance.
(3)To assure health care providers who serve low- to moderate-income persons of some
amount of compensation for the care they provide.
(4)To avert the economic and human costs of crises in both access to health care and health
services financing which are likely to result from not participating in an expansion of a
major federal program while other sources of financing for medical care for the uninsured
and the indigent are being drastically reduced or eliminated.
Proposed law requires that on or before July 1, 2014, and annually thereafter, the secretary of
DHH shall provide to the legislative committees on health and welfare and the governor a written
report covering the most recent one-year period which includes at minimum all of the following items:
(1)Evaluation of overall health outcomes and quality of care for La. Medicaid enrollees, and
recommendations for policy changes to improve such outcomes and quality of care.
Requires that the secretary base such evaluation on measurements derived from a metric
which is generally accepted by public and private health care providers such as the
Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS).
(2)Evaluation of major barriers to access to health care by La. Medicaid enrollees and
recommendations for policy changes to eliminate such barriers.
(3)Summary of successful initiatives in La. for disease prevention and early diagnosis and
management of chronic conditions among Medicaid enrollees.
(4)Trends in enrollment of health care providers in the La. Medicaid program during the
period covered by the report.
(5)Major challenges faced by health care providers enrolled in the La. Medicaid program and
recommendations for policy changes to address such challenges.
(6)Impacts on health outcomes and health care costs in La. during the period covered by the
report which resulted from participation by health care providers enrolled in the Medicaid
program in any federal or state initiatives for coordinated care or patient-centered medical
homes.
(7)Such other information as the secretary deems appropriate to convey a clear and
sufficiently complete assessment of the impact of the Medicaid program in La.
Proposed law requires DHH to make such report publicly available on its website.
Effective upon signature of governor or lapse of time for gubernatorial action.
(Adds R.S. 46:979.1-979.5)