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Regular Session, 2013 ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON NO. 108
BY SENATOR HEITMEIER
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON
To authorize and direct the Department of Health and Hospitals to submit a request to the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to extend Louisiana's Section 1115a
demonstration waiver (Project No. 11-W-00252/6) for the Greater New Orleans
Community Health Connection and to authorize and direct the governor and the
secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals to identify a source or sources
for the matching of non-federal funds required under the extended waiver.
WHEREAS, a Section 1115a demonstration waiver (Project No. 11-W-00252/6) for
the Greater New Orleans Community Health Connection (GNOCHC waiver) was created
in 2010 to continue the expansion of access to primary care services, including mental health
care, without regard to a patient's ability to pay, and to develop a medical home model of
care, all of which had begun under the post-Katrina Primary Care Access and Stabilization
Grant program; and
WHEREAS, clinics funded by the GNOCHC waiver have provided accessible,
affordable primary care to approximately five hundred thousand residents in the parishes of
Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, and Plaquemines; and
WHEREAS, the GNOCHC waiver has substantially improved access to health care,
the quality of health care, and the health of the patients and families in Orleans, Jefferson,
St. Bernard, and Plaquemines Parishes; and
WHEREAS, the GNOCHC waiver is more cost effective by prioritizing primary care
rather than expensive hospital care, through emphasis on primary care medical homes; and SCR NO. 108 ENROLLED
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WHEREAS, as a result of the GNOCHC waiver, the greater New Orleans region now
boasts a quality, affordable network of neighborhood based health centers offering primary
care and mental health to everyone irrespective of their ability to pay; and
WHEREAS, an external evaluation in 2010 by the Commonwealth Fund reported
that although the health centers funded by the GNOCHC waiver cared for people that were
on average lower income and suffering from a higher burden of disease than the average
American, the evaluation reported better access, satisfaction with health care, and less
indebtedness because of health care related expenses; and
WHEREAS, in 2010 the health center network funded by the GNOCHC waiver
received an award for quality by the National Committee on Quality Assurance; and
WHEREAS, financial responsibility assessments by the United States Department
of Health and Human Services, office of inspector general, have demonstrated a responsible
use of funding made available by the GNOCHC waiver; and
WHEREAS, absent an extension, the GNOCHC waiver will expire on December 31,
2013, leaving approximately sixty thousand individuals currently enrolled in GNOCHC
without coverage and access to comprehensive primary care and mental health services; and
WHEREAS, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has requested that the
Department of Health and Hospitals submit a request to extend the GNOCHC waiver no
later than June 30, 2013; and
WHEREAS, extension of the GNOCHC waiver would continue the expansion of
access to quality primary care, mental health, and other services through a collaborative
public-private partnership approach that promotes team-based and innovative health care
services.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
authorize and direct the Department of Health and Hospitals to submit a request to the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to extend the Section 1115a Medicaid
demonstration waiver (Project No. 11-W-00252/6) for the Greater New Orleans Community
Health Connection for a three year period commencing January 1, 2014, and does hereby
authorize and direct the governor and the secretary of the Department of Health and
Hospitals to identify a source or sources for the matching of non-federal funds required SCR NO. 108 ENROLLED
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under the extended GNOCHC waiver.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
governor and the secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES