Two New Orleans Clinics Spend Twice As Much On Patient Care As Other Clinics In State

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 31 Oct 2007 - 7:00 PDT

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Two New Orleans primary care clinics in 2006 spent twice as much per patient as most other federally funded clinics in Louisiana, according to an analysis by USA Today. The clinics, Excelth and the City of New Orleans Department of Health, are the only federally funded primary care centers in the city, where it is estimated that 100,000 people are uninsured and 150,000 are Medicaid beneficiaries.

Before Hurricane Katrina in 2005, patients would have received care at Louisiana State University's Charity Hospital and its 150 clinics, but the hospitals and most of the clinics have closed. Katrina also damaged the Excelth and City of New Orleans clinics' facilities and scattered their patients, according to federal officials.

According to USA Today, Excelth last year spent $2.14 million to provide care for 4,666 patients, or $460.16 per patient, compared to the statewide average of $165.44 per person. The City of New Orleans Department of Health received $877,669 and served 2,072 patients, spending $423.59 per patient, most of whom were homeless.

Performance at Excelth declined after Katrina, but federal officials decided not to reduce funding. Jim Macrae of the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration said, "We decided to give them a break" because the clinic drew up "reasonable plans to get back up to speed." Excelth Director Mike Andry attributed the high per-patient spending to rebuilding efforts and fewer patients. The federal government in May approved $920,833 for Excelth to build a fourth site and $354,013 to expand an existing site.

The clinic's grant cycle ends next year, which would allow other facilities to compete for the funds, and the agency has issued an invitation for other clinics to work alongside Excelth, according to Macrae. However, some officials have said the agency is reluctant to fund clinics competing in the same area, according to USA Today (Sternberg, USA Today, 10/30).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation© 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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