The Greater New Orleans Health Information Exchange (GNOHIE), launched in late 2012 in the Greater New Orleans area, and its many partners was recently highlighted in the May/June issue of the Healthcare Journal of New Orleans. Check some of it out below. To read the full article, click here.

“In our ever more connected world, it makes sense that healthcare providers are increasingly exploring connectivity as a pathway to delivering quality care. Most hospitals, clinics, and even private practices are adopting electronic health records (EHRs) to better track patient information and in many cases provide patients with improved access to both that information and their healthcare providers between visits. In some cases, providers have agreed to adopt the same electronic health record (EHR) to improve communication as patients move between care settings, but for the most part, physicians and healthcare facilities have shopped for and implemented a wide variety of EHRs based on a number of factors, such as cost, ease of implementation, user friendliness, and more. So while they may have improved quality and efficiency within their own practice, they remain part of a fragmented system of healthcare delivery that few believe is best for patients, providers, quality or cost containment.”

To continue reading, click here.

To learn more about the GNOHIE, click here.

To learn more about LPHI’s work, click here.

Healthcare.gov has been relaunched recently.  Check it out for new information about the Marketplace section, where families and small businesses will be able to easily compare and purchase high-quality health insurance plans starting October 1, 2013, with coverage beginning January 1, 2014.

Did you know that due to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Law of 2008, which is now being enforced, all Americans w/ health plans that include mental health benefits can finally expect equity in their coverage? Meaning a health plan may not enforce a treatment limitation or financial requirement on mental health/substance abuse benefits unless the same limit is placed on medical benefits.

Check out the full story from the Huffington post for more information by clicking here.

With Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration opting out of the Medicaid expansion offered in the federal Affordable Care Act, New Orleans officials say they are looking for ways to go it alone. Jindal announced his decision after the Supreme Court in June upheld the constitutionality of the health-care overhaul legislation but ruled that states can’t be compelled to expand Medicaid, a key component of President Barack Obama’s goal of providing near universal health coverage by 2014.

If Gov. Jindal chooses not expand Medicaid as allowed through the Affordable Care Act, the City of New Orleans is working with the (federal) Department of Health & Human Services some options to provide universal coverage for residents.

Check out the full story from the Times-Picayune by clicking here.

Check out this great article from the Baton Rouge Advocate detailing the new health care benefits that go into effect today for women across the nation.

“U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu and other Senate Democrats touted the beginning of new preventive health care benefits beginning Wednesday for women without increasing direct costs under President Barack Obama’s health care law.

The extra services for new or renewed insurance plans range from women’s wellness exams and HIV testing to the controversial contraception mandate that is being challenged in court by several Catholic organizations.

The rule changes phased in Wednesday are expected to affect 47 million women nationwide. Landrieu said more than 600,000 women in Louisiana who currently have private insurance will benefit as well.”

To read the full article, click here.

Two of Ochsner Medical Centers have received top ratings for the state from U.S. News & World Report’s rankings of health-care facilities. The main campus in Jefferson and a satellite facility in Gretna ranked among the country’s top 50 centers in 11 of 16 specialties. They received the top local ranking last year, too.

Ochsner’s Kenner hospital was ranked second in the New Orleans area and fourth in Louisiana.

Rankings are based on objective factors such as patient-outcome data, resources, staffing and available technology, as well as subjective “reputation” rankings by doctors throughout the United States.

Check out the Times-Picayune story here.

Read the full report from U.S. News & World Report here.

According to the Institute of Medicine, the United States needs to spend more on its chronically underfunded public health system and use that money more efficiently.

The U.S. spent nearly $2.5 trillion in 2009 on health in general — more than any other nation — but has lower scores on life expectancy, infant survival and other indicators of population health than other wealthy nations, according to the report. However, only 3.1 percent of U.S. health spending went to government-administered public health in 2009, according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid’s National Health Expenditure Accounts. That works out to $251 per person in public health spending, compared with $8,086 per person in medical care spending.

To read the full story, click here.

A landmark study published on July 7^th by the National Bureau of Economic Research marks the first time that Medicaid has been rigorously proven to improve the wellness and financial stability of low income Americans. The study shows that those with Medicaid are more likely to be admitted to a hospital, have access to prescription medicine, and feel good about their health. While the findings may seem obvious, policy makers have long questioned whether Medicaid is beneficial. When an unfortunate economic difficulty forced Oregon to accept new Medicaid applicants based on lottery, investigators made the best of the situation by comparing the health outcomes of those who were randomly selected to receive Medicaid with those who were not. The findings come at a pivotal time: right in the midst of ongoing health care debates. Read more about the benefits of providing medical insurance to low-income Americans.

The Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as Health Care Reform, aims to help protect American families from the rising cost of health care services and seeks to ensure that all Americans have access to stable and affordable health insurance coverage. Because of the size and scope of the law, understanding how it affects people can be complicated. To help individuals and communities better understand the facts and benefits of Health Care Reform, the Louisiana Public Health Institute has created a Health Care Reform Resources section on its website that features a compilation of resources including immediate benefits for Louisiana, major changes listed by year through 2014, information for health care providers, implications of health care reform for community-based organizations and more. Visit the health care reform resources section at LPHI.org.

Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced that health insurance providers will be required to allow children to remain on their parents’ insurance plan until age 26 if health insurance is not provided through their place of employement. This provision, outlined in the Affordable Care Act, was scheduled to go into effect in September, but the Administration wanted the new ruling to go into effect sooner so that young adults graduating from college this year would not have to go without health coverage during the summer months. Read more.