HLS 13RS-3363 ORIGINAL
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Regular Session, 2013
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON NO. 139
BY REPRESENTATIVE BARROW AND SENATOR BROOME
PRIVATIZATION: Directs certain state entities to report to the legislature concerning
operation and management of state hospitals by private entities
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON1
To direct the division of administration, the Department of Health and Hospitals, and the2
Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical3
College to make annual reports to the legislature concerning operation and4
management of state hospitals by private entities.5
WHEREAS, a drastic reduction in federal funding for the Louisiana Medicaid6
program was included in a sweeping transportation bill passed by congress and signed into7
law on July 6, 2012, and resulted in a net decrease of over eight hundred fifty million dollars8
in the state's Medicaid budget enacted on June 14, 2012, for the present state fiscal year; and9
WHEREAS, pursuant to this dramatic cut to Medicaid funding, the Department of10
Health and Hospitals, hereafter referred to as "department", announced a decision on July11
13, 2012, to address the shortfall by eliminating nearly all funding for state hospitals12
operated by Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, hereafter13
referred to as "LSU", rather than spread the cuts more evenly throughout the Medicaid14
program; and15
WHEREAS, since that time, the department has led development of a privatization16
effort in which public-private partnerships have been proposed for delivery of health services17
at LSU hospital facilities by private health care enterprises, with the terms and conditions18
for such service delivery to be set forth in cooperative endeavor agreements between the19
state and private providers; and20 HLS 13RS-3363 ORIGINAL
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WHEREAS, negotiations for the prospective cooperative endeavor agreements, in1
which critical matters of public finance and public health policy will presumably be2
determined, are being conducted in secret; and3
WHEREAS, the forerunner of privatization agreements of this type was one4
involving the Earl K. Long Medical Center in Baton Rouge and Our Lady of the Lake5
Regional Medical Center, hereafter referred to as "OLOL"; and6
WHEREAS, despite the Earl K. Long/OLOL cooperative endeavor agreement having7
been conceived prior to 2009, executed in February of 2010, and amended multiple times8
since then, the state has been unable to resolve numerous shortcomings in the transfer of9
vital health care services to a private operator; and10
WHEREAS, as evidenced by the final passage of House Bill No. 1493 of the 201011
Regular Session, the Legislature of Louisiana intends that the state parties to privatization12
of a public hospital should undertake an open, earnest, and transparent effort to report to the13
legislature on the fiscal and public health consequences of hospital privatization; and14
WHEREAS, because the current statewide effort to privatize all but one of LSU's ten15
hospitals is being implemented in a manner which entirely precludes any legislative16
oversight or approval, the purpose of this Resolution is to require key data to be reported17
annually to the legislature so that this branch of government may be fully informed and18
better able to fulfill essential responsibilities for public finance and public health policy to19
which it has been entrusted by the people of this state.20
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby21
direct the division of administration, the Department of Health and Hospitals, and the Board22
of Supervisors of Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College,23
acting jointly, to develop and submit a report to the House and Senate committees on health24
and welfare and to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget no later than thirty days25
prior to the convening of the 2014 Regular Session of the Legislature of Louisiana, and26
annually thereafter, concerning the operation of state hospitals by private providers.27
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the report shall include, at minimum, the28
following information for each state hospital operated by a private provider:29 HLS 13RS-3363 ORIGINAL
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(1) A detailed account of the net costs or savings associated with the privatization1
of hospital operations.2
(2) A recapitulation of the measures reported to the Centers for Medicare and3
Medicaid Services through the Hospital Compare program, including Hospital Outcome of4
Care measures, Hospital Process of Care measures, and Survey of Patients' Hospital5
Experiences measures.6
(3) A comparison of employment information for the hospital prior to and7
subsequent to privatization, including the number of employees terminated and the number8
subsequently rehired; the average compensation, including wages, benefits, and retirement9
contributions, for hospital employees prior to and subsequent to privatization; a comparison10
of average compensation of employees terminated and subsequently rehired pursuant to11
privatization; and a comparison of the number of credentialed personnel employed at the12
hospital by professional category, including but not limited to physicians, allied health13
professionals, registered nurses, and licensed practical nurses, prior to and subsequent to14
privatization.15
(4) A comparison of actual costs to the state of delivering hospital services through16
the private provider with the best estimate of costs to the state of delivering the same level17
of services directly, including but not limited to per diem costs for inpatient care. This18
analysis shall include capital costs whether or not such costs are reflected in the cooperative19
endeavor agreement or elsewhere in the state budget.20
(5) Measures of accessibility of health care services at the hospital by medically21
needy patients prior to and subsequent to privatization, along with recommendations for22
mitigating or eliminating any barriers to health care access which medically needy persons23
experience.24
(6) Evaluation of overall health outcomes and quality of care for medically needy25
patients in the catchment area of the hospital prior to and subsequent to privatization, along26
with recommendations for policy changes to improve such outcomes and quality of care.27
Measurements on which the authors of the report base the evaluation shall be derived from28
a metric which is generally accepted by public and private health care providers such as the29
Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS).30 HLS 13RS-3363 ORIGINAL
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(7) If obstetrics, gynecology, contraception, or other health services for women are1
not offered by the private provider operating a state hospital, then the report shall address2
means by which the state provides for access to health services for women in the catchment3
area of the hospital.4
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the5
office of the governor, the commissioner of administration, the secretary of the Department6
of Health and Hospitals, and the chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State7
University and Agricultural and Mechanical College.8
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)]
Barrow HCR No. 139
Directs DOA, DHH, and LSU to develop and submit a report to the legislative health and
welfare committees and to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget no later than 30
days prior to the convening of the 2014 R.S., and annually thereafter, concerning the
operation of state hospitals by private providers which includes, at minimum, the following
information for each state hospital operated by a private provider through a cooperative
endeavor agreement with the state:
(1)A detailed account of the net costs or savings associated with the privatization of
hospital operations.
(2)A recapitulation of the measures reported to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services through the Hospital Compare program.
(3)A comparison of employment information for the hospital prior to and subsequent
to privatization, including the number of employees terminated and the number
subsequently rehired; the average compensation, including wages, benefits, and
retirement contributions, for hospital employees prior to and subsequent to
privatization; a comparison of average compensation of employees terminated and
subsequently rehired pursuant to privatization; and a comparison of the number of
credentialed personnel employed at the hospital by professional category, including
but not limited to physicians, allied health professionals, registered nurses, and
licensed practical nurses, prior to and subsequent to privatization.
(4)A comparison of actual costs to the state of delivering hospital services through the
private provider with the best estimate of costs to the state of delivering the same
level of services directly, including but not limited to per diem costs for inpatient
care.
(5)Measures of accessibility of health care services at the hospital by medically needy
patients prior to and subsequent to privatization, along with recommendations for
mitigating or eliminating any barriers to health care access which medically needy
persons experience.
(6)Evaluation of overall health outcomes and quality of care for medically needy
patients in the catchment area of the hospital prior to and subsequent to privatization, HLS 13RS-3363 ORIGINAL
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along with recommendations for policy changes to improve such outcomes and
quality of care.
(7)If obstetrics, gynecology, contraception, or other health services for women are not
offered by the private provider operating a state hospital, then the report shall
address means by which the state provides for access to health services for women
in the catchment area of the hospital.