Blanco pledges support to long-term care financing changes

BATON ROUGE, La. Governor Kathleen Blanco backed up her pledges of support for diversifying Louisiana's long-term care system today with specific proposals that would change the way the state pays nursing homes and divert money to more community- and home-based care services.

A year after its formation, Blanco's health care reform task force released its detailed recommendations for an overhaul to Louisiana's spending on long-term care, and the governor embraced those suggestions and outlined the changes she intends to bring to the Legislature.

Several are likely to be the subject of strong disagreements during the legislative session that begins April 25th.

Advocates for community care, including A-A-R-P, applauded the governor's remarks, saying she outlined steps for creating more choices for people who depend on the state for assistance.

Some of the changes would be bureaucratic, like the governor's plan to create an Office of Aging within the health department to consolidate all long-term care services for the elderly in one office.

But others would be more fundamental spending changes that would deviate from years of health care financing in the state.

Joe Donchess, executive director of the nursing home group, has said the organization would not support proposals to shrink payments to nursing homes, calling it "robbing Peter to pay Paul."

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