LOUISIANA Community Mental Health Services Block Grant ...

SECTION II – IDENTIFICATION & ANALYSIS OF SERVICE SYSTEM‟S STRENGTHS,
NEEDS, & PRIORITIES
SERVICE SYSTEM‟S STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES
LOUISIANA FY 2011 - ADULT & CHILD/ YOUTH PLAN
The President’s New Freedom Commission Report found that the mental health care system needs to
be fundamentally transformed to become recovery oriented, to integrate programs that are fragmented
across levels of government and different agencies, and to replace unnecessary institutional care with
efficient, effective community services. The Office of Behavioral Health is fully aware of these
issues and is in the process of transformative action.
Mental health care in Louisiana has been burdened by a lack of adequate infrastructure, an
insufficient workforce, and declining funding. Louisiana historically has had a fragmented mental
health system and access to care has been inadequate. The downturn in the economy has created
further problems with individuals losing health care benefits; whether because of industry cutbacks or
by loss of employment.
Even those individuals in the state who have insurance are not immune from problems in obtaining
adequate mental health care. The Louisiana Office of Group Benefits, the largest insurer in the state
of Louisiana, offers group health insurance benefits to state employees and employees of many local
government entities. Sadly, this organization has elected to exempt these government-sponsored
health plans from the parity requirement of the federal law known as the Health Insurance Portability
and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) law, such that mental health and substance use disorder
benefits continue to be more restrictive than those applicable to medical and surgical benefits covered
by the plan. As of the 2010 fiscal year, a separate mental health deductible will no longer be required
and limits on outpatient treatment and inpatient hospital stays are in effect, but employees have been
notified that the health insurance plan “may not meet all technical requirements of the interim federal
rules and regulations.”
On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law the historically significant Affordable Care
Act. The law puts into place comprehensive health insurance reforms that promise to hold insurance
companies more accountable and lower health care costs, guarantee more health care choices, and
enhance the quality of health care for all Americans. Some of these reforms take place over time,
while others take effect immediately. Parity for all health conditions including mental health is
expected to improve.
Extensive programmatic review of Louisiana‟s mental health systems and services has been
undertaken during previous administrations. The ensuing reports have identified inadequacies and
have provided specific recommendations for improvement. The most recent report, A Roadmap for
Change was published in June, 2006, and continues to provide a useful schema to follow in
examining transformation efforts.
A Roadmap for Change:
Bringing the Hope of Recovery to Louisianians with Mental Health Conditions
Prior to the hurricanes, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) commissioned a
programmatic systems and services review of mental health care in Louisiana, resulting in a
document that was published in June, 2006, and did include evaluation of the system post-Katrina
PART C LOUISIANA FY 2011 PAGE 62
SECTION II: ADULT & CHILD/ YOUTH
IDENTIFICATION & ANALYSIS OF SERVICE SYSTEM’S STRENGTHS, NEEDS, & PRIORITIES