LHCA

Vision:  A healthier, more productive Louisiana

Mission:  To develop and sustain a purchaser, patient and provider partnership to continually improve the quality and value of health care in Louisiana.

The Problem/Opportunity:

Few public or private organizations in Louisiana have the ability to unite broad alliances of stakeholders like we can and already are.  The challenge of redesigning our health care system into one that is:

Ø  Patient centered,

Ø  Evidence based and

Ø  Quality driven

will require a true collaboration, focused, committed and willing to work as partners.  LHCA has shown we can build and sustain such an “alliance.”

From our roots as an organization of health care purchasers, LHCA has demonstrated a unique ability to establish a meaningful dialogue, successful projects and new policy to improve the health of everyone in our state.  The Alliance has thrived under the challenge and has grown into a premier organization promoting public and private sector change.

Louisiana ranks 49^th or 50^th in most published reports on the health status of our citizens.  However, many of the most critical health concerns are preventable.  Additionally, the population of Louisiana has proven particularly susceptible to hurricane relocation and external events impacting people’s access to timely effective care as well as continuity of their health plan benefits.

The needs are significant, but the opportunities are great through public/private partnerships and the Alliance’s own efforts that:

Ø  Drive measurable change in the health status of the population of Louisiana

Ø  Drive measurable change in health and workplace productivity

Ø  Ensure better access to higher quality care by maximizing the use of

o   Technology,

o   Innovation and

o   Consumerism.

LHCA will bring about these changes by:

Ø  Creating new transparencies about health care cost, quality and outcomes, and

Ø  Educating consumers, thereby empowering purchasers to make better choices

Our Strategic Plan already includes key initiatives enabling meaningful change.  These include our leadership for:

Ø  Enrolling families in E-PHR to assure personal health data will accompany each of them when seeking care;

Ø  Educating families about personal health and well-being, empowering families to do what they realistically can to improve their own health;

Ø  Engaging the medical community to improve the way in which each provider approaches patient care; and

Ø  Making the public policy changes needed to support “Employer led, market-driven, Community Based Health Care Reform” (i.e. the mission of LBGH).

The “Outcomes” we expect from our efforts include:

Ø  Thousands more enrolled in an standardized, patient controlled, bi-directional and HIPAA secure Electronic Personal Health Record (E-PHR),

Ø  Many more physicians making increasingly effective use of technology in a way that dramatically improves patient outcomes,

Ø  Data projects with useable information about the quality and cost of care thereby empowering consumers to make the right decisions,

Ø  Tens of thousands of individuals and their families committed to improving personal health, consequently improving Louisiana’s last place rankings, and

Ø  New public policy that supports and sustains these successful projects.

Changing the profile of health care in our state will require new revenue and other resources including: additional staff, effective use of the media, more educational resources, and a new emphasis on the consumers.  This new emphasis would have a population focus achieved by engaging employers as an effective and efficient conduit for the transfer of information as well as data gathering.

Developing Human and Financial Resources:

A comprehensive development initiative through LHCA will need to develop both volunteerism and revenue.  The Corporate Leadership (CEO) Roundtable will be the foundation for gaining the involvement of Louisiana’s top corporate leadership.  This group has those key individuals who can act as levers and remove barriers and they will be critical to the success of any development initiative.  This group can amplify resources and enhance the ability our HR members have to give effectively of their time and expertise.  Building a better relationship with the C-Suite will be an important part of the new Development Program.

Developing financial resources will include both new and expanded efforts to broaden our revenue base to include gifts, grants, underwriting and sponsorships, educational events/opportunities, value added services (i.e. specific products) and gifts in kind (example: “Turn-Key” Wellness resources) .