The LSU Academy of Politics held a forum to discuss something affecting people of all ages – health care.
“It’s a major problem in the state because people can’t afford it,” said Lynn Nicholas, executive director of the Louisiana Hospitals Association.
David Hood, secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals, said health care problems are applicable to college students because some don’t have insurance.
“Affordability is a big issue, whether you’re in or out of college,” Hood said.
Management senior Yvette Guillot agreed health care affects college students.
“It applies in the sense of when I apply for employment, it’s important that health insurance is part of the benefits. I didn’t realize so many people didn’t have medical insurance,” Guillot said.
Guillot said Louisiana should look at what the more efficient states in health care services are doing and emulate their methods so money is spent more responsibly.
Nicholas said Louisiana has the fourth lowest rate of insurance in the country.
“Because our medical payments are very low per patient as compared to the rest of the country, the insurance companies are pushing for higher rates,” Nicholas said.
Nicholas said people paying insurance experience a surplus of 66 percent in their premiums because hospitals need to get back money they lost from treating non-insured patients.
State Sen. Tom Schedler, R-Slidell, said because of the increased premiums, some companies ended their employees’ insurance benefits, and as a result, many people working in Louisiana are uninsured.
“There is certainly a health care crisis,” Hood said.
Hood said Louisiana is a high-spending and low-performing state in health care. Louisiana spends $3,800 per citizen a year, which is above average, but is ranked 49th in the nation in performance, he said.
Hood attributed the problem to how the state allocates money.
“If we didn’t have budget cuts, we’d be spending more money in the wrong places,” Hood said.
Hood said despite the fact that Louisiana has a relatively young population, it has the most nursing homes per capita in the United States, with more than 7,000 empty beds.
Another topic covered was health standards.
“We are considered to have the lowest health standards in the United States. We need more responsibility and community involvement,” Nicholas said.
Nicholas gave some indicators of Louisiana’s rank.
“Louisiana is 17th in incidents of cancer, but we have the highest death rate for cancer patients in the United States,” Hood said.
Hood said this could be because 60 percent of the adult population is overweight.