HJBR Mar/Apr 2020

28 MAR / APR 2020 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE COLUMN LDH CORNER Improving Health Changing Lives The Louisiana Department of Health has many accomplishments to be proud of under the first term of Gov. John Bel Edwards’ administration. As assistant secretary for Public Health, I have been able to see many of those accomplishments, and more importantly, the impact on thousands of Louisiana citizens up close. WE have been extremely fortunate to have such visionary leadership in Louisiana around healthcare issues, from the governor to de- partment leaders, and to healthcare adminis- trators and providers around the state. But, it is important to note that much of the change we have seen has come from a number of policy changes that reflect a willingness to in- novate and replicate successes we have seen in other states, and at the federal level. That started with Medicaid expansion, which became possible in Louisiana on Gov- ernor Edwards’ first full day in office with his signing of an executive order expanding this lifeline to more than 450,000 Louisiana cit- izens. Through expansion, we have cut the state’s uninsured rate in half, down to only 8 percent, and saved lives, while creating new jobs and economic growth in the process. We have improved access as well, with the largest growth in federally qualified health centers in the nation. And, unlike many oth- er states in the south, we have stabilized our system to the point that all of our rural hospi- tals remain open for business, and we have seen additional capital investment in building projects. A recent Louisiana State University study shows expansion is currently supporting 14,000 new jobs across the state, and sup- porting $889 million in personal earnings, so it has also been good for the state budget. Louisiana taxpayers have saved $282 million because of Medicaid expansion. Improving Health, Changing Lives We have also made strides in combatting some of our most difficult to address commu- nicable diseases. Personally, as the state’s public health leader, I am excited about reducing our di- agnoses of HIV and sexually-transmitted infections. In partnership with our FQHCs, other providers, and community members, we announced in July that fewer people have been diagnosed with an HIV infection in the past year than in any of the previous 10 years. In 2018, there were under 1,000 people diag- nosed with HIV for the first time in a decade. We achieved a similar milestone in tuber- culosis control in 2019, with fewer than 100 new cases diagnosed for the first time since 1958. That puts Louisiana’s rate of tuberculo- sis infection below the national average, and makes us a “low incidence” state for the first time. Louisiana’s STI rankings have been im- proving as well, with rates of primary and secondary syphilis and congenital syphilis all improving between 2017 to 2018. Louisiana is ranked No. 7 in the nation for primary and secondary syphilis case rates, declining from No. 3 in 2017, and we are No. 3 in congenital syphilis, declining from No. 1 in 2017. These reductions provide evidence that increased screening, education, and prevention efforts are making a difference. We have also been eager to work with oth- er agency partners, such as the Department of Corrections. Our efforts to eradicate hep- atitis C using an innovative plan to reduce drug costs was done in coordination with DOC. Such partnerships are rare nationally, but we thought it was worth it to save lives, including within the prison system. Another great partnership we have with DOC is our Medicaid re-entry program for prisoners, which ensures those who have served their time will have Medicaid upon release. We have made it possible for near- ly 12,000 people to apply for Medicaid, en- suring released prisoners will have access to mental health services, medications, and primary care. For about 200 prisoners with chronic conditions, we have ensured access to case managers, who make certain that newly released prisoners have access to