[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Pages 22619-22620]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              NEW ORLEANS REGION HOSPITAL DISASTER FUNDING

  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I rise to highlight the continued and 
critical need for post-Katrina health care recovery funding for those 
hospitals that have struggled to this day to provide critical medical 
services in the New Orleans region. The Congress has been extremely 
helpful to the State of Louisiana in providing funding support for many 
Katrina and Rita recovery purposes. However, minimal assistance has 
been provided to enable the greater New Orleans area hospitals to 
maintain adequate and required health care operations. The affected 
hospitals, specifically East Jefferson General Hospital, Ochsner Health 
System, Touro Infirmary, Tulane Medical Center, University Hospital, 
and West Jefferson Medical Center, provided over 90 percent of all 
regional hospital-based health care, and are expected to do so for at 
least the next five years. It is vitally important that this health 
care base be maintained in order to preserve other recovery efforts 
throughout the region.
  Louisiana hospital executives have testified before Congress 
concerning the post-Katrina health care funding crisis caused by 
escalating expenses that significantly outpaced revenues, with no 
immediate stabilization expected; post-Katrina labor expenses that 
increased by $140 million; non-labor expenses--i.e. utilities, 
insurance, interest, bad debts--that increased by $300 million; and 
fewer skilled healthcare professionals. The regional hospitals are 
experiencing reduced bond ratings--with defaults looming--increased 
marketing and recruiting expenses, and even a loss of leadership. The 
Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General--OIG--and the 
General Accounting Office, through extensive and voluntary audits, have 
objectively validated the magnitude of these post-Katrina financial 
losses and the demonstrated need for New Orleans regional hospital 
disaster assistance.
  To stabilize critical health care services in the region, the New 
Orleans area hospitals require a federal funding ``bridge'' as they 
transition to a firmer economic base through adjusted wage indexes and 
other revenue streams. The hospitals are at a critical tipping point in 
financial losses, and each is determining the steps necessary to remain 
medically and fiscally sound. Without funding support, the potential 
reduction in health care services will impact the fragile recovery of 
the entire New Orleans region.
  In the pending appropriations bill now before this body, Social 
Service Block Grant funding is provided to partially address health 
care and other needs resulting from Katrina, Rita and other hurricanes 
and natural disasters. I intend to work closely with the President, the 
Secretary of Department of

[[Page 22620]]

Health and Human Services, and other Federal officials to ensure that 
sufficient block grant funding is provided to the New Orleans regional 
hospitals to ensure the stability of health care services in the 
Katrina-affected regions.
  Again, I was instrumental in crafting this program to help hospitals 
that, with the electricity off and the city underwater, stayed open by 
the sheer guts of their doctors and nurses. I can still see them in my 
mind, struggling to keep those hospitals open with the city completely 
underwater and a parish underwater. This is for Orleans and Jefferson. 
They still have not been reimbursed for the work that they did during 
Katrina.
  For some reason, we can't get this Congress to understand the 
importance of what those hospitals did during this great time of need. 
So I wish to send this in for the Record.

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