HLS 18RS-3248 ORIGINAL
2018 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 65
BY REPRESENTATIVE MCFARLAND
MEDICAID: Requests the La. Department of Health to study and report to the legislature
concerning the potential implementation of mandatory case management in the
Medicaid program
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health to study the potential
3 implementation of mandatory case management for Medicaid recipients identified
4 as high-risk and to report findings of the study to the legislative committees on
5 health and welfare.
6 WHEREAS, case management in health care has proven to be a vital tool in
7improving the health status and quality of life for individuals identified as high-risk due to
8either health status or socioeconomic factors; and
9 WHEREAS, through case management, individuals have opportunities to participate
10in disease management programs such as diabetes management, smoking cessation, asthma
11control, medication reminders, and referral to community programs and other evidence-
12based strategies that assist people in their efforts to improve their health and socioeconomic
13status; and
14 WHEREAS, case management in Medicaid is a voluntary service and, by federal
15rule, individuals can decline the service if they choose; and
16 WHEREAS, currently, only twenty percent to thirty-five percent of Louisiana
17Medicaid enrollees identified as high-risk actually receive case management services; and
18 WHEREAS, roughly one third of Louisiana's approximately four million five
19hundred thousand residents receive health care through the taxpayer-funded Medicaid
20program; and
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HCR NO. 65
1 WHEREAS, the overall cost of Louisiana's Medicaid program has increased from
2approximately six billion dollars in 2012 to more than twelve billion dollars in 2018, and this
3state's Medicaid spending is anticipated to grow to more than fourteen billion dollars by
42021; and
5 WHEREAS, state Medicaid programs must be innovative in order to continue to
6provide quality health services while enrollment growth increases and costs continue to
7escalate; and
8 WHEREAS, innovative state Medicaid programs include initiatives that improve
9both health outcomes and overall quality of life for Medicaid enrollees; and
10 WHEREAS, in order to achieve the goal of improving public health, Medicaid
11programs should not just assist participants with health coverage, but should also consider
12initiatives that provide opportunities for disease management, community engagement, and
13economic advancement; and
14 WHEREAS, case management is an evidence-based method of improving health
15outcomes and making that service mandatory could lower healthcare costs and significantly
16improve the health status of many Medicaid recipients.
17 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
18urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health to study the potential implementation
19of mandatory case management for Medicaid recipients identified as high-risk.
20 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in conducting the study called for in this
21Resolution, the Louisiana Department of Health shall do all of the following:
22 (1) Communicate with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to determine
23the feasibility of mandatory case management and strategies for implementing such a
24program; and
25 (2) Examine the potential submission of a waiver application to the Centers for
26Medicare and Medicaid Services through which this state would request an exemption to the
27federal rule requiring that case management be voluntary.
28 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Louisiana Department of Health shall issue
29findings and recommendations from the study called for in this Resolution in the form of a
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HCR NO. 65
1report to the House Committee on Health and Welfare and the Senate Committee on Health
2and Welfare on or before January 1, 2019.
3 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
4secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health.
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)]
HCR 65 Original 2018 Regular Session McFarland
Requests the La. Department of Health to study the potential implementation of mandatory
case management for certain Medicaid recipients and to report findings of the study to the
legislative committees on health and welfare.
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