Medicaid shortfall will be patched in part with mental health cuts
by Jan Moller - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

The state Department of Health and Hospitals plans to dip into several one-time revenue sources and cut spending on mental health, public health and prescription drugs to make up for a $308 million deficit in its Medicaid program, authorities said Monday. Health and Hospitals Secretary Alan Levine said the mid-year shortfall in the state's health-care program for the poor, elderly and disabled is the result of several factors, including higher-than-anticipated costs associated with treating the swine flu epidemic and operating community-care programs for the disabled, as well as bureaucratic delays in implementing earlier rate cuts. Medicaid is a $6.5 billion a year program that uses a mix of state and federal dollars to provide health-care for more than 1.2 million Louisiana residents, mostly children and the elderly. While the Legislature sets a budget for the program each year, the number represents an educated guess of how many people will use specific services. That means mid-year adjustments are often needed to keep the budget in balance.