The Louisiana Senate Health and Welfare Committee on Wednesday approved a bill (SB 1) that would create a "medical home" network to provide health care to low-income and uninsured residents, the Baton Rouge Advocate reports. Under the bill, sponsored by state Sen. Joe McPherson (D), the state would oversee the managed care networks, which would be operated by public and private health care providers. Network participants -- including primary care physicians, specialists and hospitals -- would be required to meet certain quality-of-care standards and participate in an electronic health records program.

According to the Advocate, the bill is the state's response to a health system redesign plan supported by HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt that would have used health care funding to purchase private insurance for residents. State officials said the plan would leave more than half of the state's uninsured without access to care.

The bill now moves to the full Senate (Shuler, Baton Rouge Advocate, 5/10). An analysis by the Legislative Fiscal Office estimates that it would cost $227 million to expand coverage in the New Orleans and Lake Charles regions and $947 million to implement the legislation statewide.

SCHIP
Meanwhile, the state House Health and Welfare Committee approved a bill (HB 542) intended to increase LaCHIP enrollment by 32,000 children by the end of 2007. The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Monica Walker (D), would allow children in families with annual incomes between 200% and 300% of the federal poverty level to enroll in the program and would take aggressive measures to enroll uninsured children who are eligible for the program. To be eligible for LaCHIP, children in families in the higher-income category would have to be uninsured or have a parent who recently lost employer-sponsored coverage or lost benefits through Medicaid or LaCHIP within the past year. Families in the higher-income category would contribute copayments on a sliding scale. The proposal would costs $31 million in fiscal year 2007-2008. Gov. Kathleen Blanco (D) supports both proposals (Moller, New Orleans Times-Picayune, 5/10).

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