Federal action on Gov. Bobby Jindal’s health-care proposal likely won’t come until after the 2009 legislative session, Louisiana’s health chief said Tuesday. The Jindal administration had planned to push legislation to implement the revamp.
Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Alan Levine said progress is being hindered by the change-over in presidential administrations as well as delays in the appointment of top federal health agency officials. “Right now they are in a holding pattern” in Washington, Levine told a Louisiana Hospital Association meeting.
Levine said it could take six months to get final federal sign-off on the state’s application submitted to the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services in the waning days of the Bush administration. That would put the OK past the June 25 end of the regular legislative session.
