With the changing of the Louisiana Medicaid system, the LAFP will strive to bring you resources and updated news to prepare you for the changes and questions you or your patients may have.

DHH Responds to Providers' Concerns, Will Continue Paying Medicaid Claims on 14-Day Processing Cycle
Source: Making Medicaid Better Newsletter 4/13/2012
BATON ROUGE—The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals is not moving forward with the final phase of a new Medicaid check write schedule, which would have pushed Medicaid claims payments toward an approximately 21-day cycle by the start of the new fiscal year. Medicaid claims will continue being paid on the current 14-day schedule. Click here to read entire newsletter article.

BAYOU HEALTH Bulletins Listed on DHH Website
Source: Making Medicad Better Newsletter 2/28/2012
BAYOU HEALTH Informational Bulletins- DHH has begun to post informational bulletins on the Making Medicaid Better website (www.makingmedicaidbetter.org). These bulletins are filled with answers to questions that have been asked on the lunchtime provider calls and through emails to the Department. Click here to be taken to the Making Medicaid Better Website

DHH Continues to Help Louisiana's Rural Hospitals Serve Medicaid Recipients through an Upper Payment Limit Program
Source: Making Medicaid Better Newsletter 2/14/2012
BATON ROUGE – The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals is preparing to pay out another $8.9 million to rural hospitals this month to help preserve access to health care for rural communities. The payments are made under an Upper Payment Limit (UPL) Program designed by DHH and championed by State Sen. Francis Thompson and the Louisiana Rural Hospital Coalition."Our rural hospitals play an important role in the state's health care infrastructure," said DHH Secretary Bruce D. Greenstein. "The UPL program is another mechanism to help these critical facilities remain viable and ensure Medicaid recipients and others have access to health care even in our most rural communities. The funding provided through the UPL program will enable substantial investments to help transition as we all work together to address Louisiana's changing health care environment." Click here to read the entire update.

Louisiana Medicaid System Update
Source: MedicineLouisiana Newsletter 1/20/2012
By: Berkley Durbin
Bayou Health- The electronic provider directory is now available on the DHH Bayou Health Website. Check to make sure your information is listed correctly. Even if you are not contracted with a Medicaid Coordinated Care Network Health Plan, verify that your group is not listed. We have received multiple complaints of errors with the health plans’ provider directories. Click here to read the entire update.

Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Updates
December 15, 2011-DHH Secretary Launches First Phase of BAYOU HEALTH Enrollment with Health Care Advocates, Providers & Medicaid and LaCHIP Recipients
MANDEVILLE—Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Bruce D. Greenstein was joined today by health care providers and advocates, Health Plan representatives, and Medicaid and LaCHIP recipients to kick off the first day of BAYOU HEALTH enrollment for the Northshore and New Orleans areas. 

"Today marks an important milestone on the path to better health in our state," said DHH Secretary Bruce D. Greenstein. "For the first time, we begin looking to Medicaid and LaCHIP enrollees to take a proactive role in choosing their health care coverage. We have staff ready and available to assist recipients in choosing which BAYOU HEALTH plan is best for them and their family. I encourage each and every eligible family to take full advantage of these resources and make this very important decision."
Click here to read more.

January 13, 2012- BAYOU HEALTH Hotline Extends Hours, Adds Saturday Call Time to Accommodate High Call Volume
BATON ROUGE—With the full transition to BAYOU HEALTH in the New Orleans and Northshore regions just two and a half weeks away, the Department of Health and Hospitals is working diligently to ensure that every eligible Medicaid and LaCHIP recipient has an opportunity to choose a Health Plan. "This week, we have seen the highest call volumes to date on the enrollment hotline as we topped the 35,000 mark for the number of recipients who have chosen their own Health Plans," DHH Secretary Bruce D. Greenstein said. "We're excited that we've had such an overwhelming response, and are making adjustments to accommodate the demand as more people are engaging in this critical decision."
Click here to read more.

The Advocate
December 16, 2012- Rollout of New System Rocky | By: Marsha Shuler  1/16/2011
The first phase of the rollout of a new "Bayou Health" privatized system for providing health care to the state's poor and uninsured is running into startup difficulties.
Also doctors, hospitals and other health-care providers have raised so many questions about how the new privatized program works that the state Department of Health and Hospitals, called DHH, started holding daily conference calls to try to clear the air. Callers complain of long wait times when phoning DHH for information. Plus, patients are reporting technical difficulties in their dealings with Bayou Health, which is supposed to help them as they make decisions. "We are still doing a lot of education," said state Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Bruce Greenstein. "This is a pretty major change in the way we do business."
Click here to read more.

BAYOU HEALTH Rapid Response
For the implementation period of BAYOU HEALTH, DHH has established a Rapid Response Plan for key stakeholders. This plan sets up a primary contact for each stakeholder. Ruth Kennedy has been designated as the contact for LA AAP members and is available any time, including after-hours should you have problems, questions, or issues.

Here is her contact information:
Ruth Kennedy
Cell Phone 225.241.1437 (text messaging is an option)
Office Phone 225.342.3032 (Ruth and her secretary will be checking the voice mail throughout the day)
Secretary Debbie Suggs’ Phone: 225.342.7878
Home Phone (Nights and Weekend): 225.567.1320
Personal e-mail (in the event DHH Outlook is down): kennedy.ruth@att.net">kennedy.ruth@att.net">kennedy.ruth@att.net

CCN/BAYOU HEALTH Provider Calls Scheduled Daily
The Department of Health & Hospitals continues to host daily provider conference calls and has stated on the calls that it is their intention to continue the calls through the implementation of BAYOU HEALTH statewide. These calls take place from 12:00 noon until 1:00 p.m. each day, and are open to all provider types. Providers do not need to register in advance to participate.

The call-in line for each day is 1-888-278-0296. The access code is 7299088
Medicaid staff directly involved with BAYOU HEALTH will be on the calls to answer your questions. The Medicaid staff will give a brief introduction and implementation update, but the bulk of each conference call will be devoted to provider questions and answers.

As these calls continue, Medicaid staff will begin compiling questions and answers addressed on the calls and posting them online to share with other providers who may have similar questions. These will be updated on an ongoing basis to reflect current information for providers.