Dive Brief:
- Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Monday a rebranding of the state's newly expanding Medicaid program, stating "Healthy Louisiana" will replace the formerly named "Bayou Health," reports The Times-Picayune.
- The state plans to begin printing the new name on new promotional and educational materials, but not to replace existing stock to avoid any cost to the state.
- The move follows Edwards' January executive order to expand Medicaid as he took office. The expansion is slated to begin July 1.
Dive Insight:
Despite the state's intent to make the change at no cost, there are concerns being voiced about potential costs to the managed care organizations running Bayou Health/Healthy Lousiana.
Some suggest changing names could cost the managed care organizations as much as $2.5 million, though state Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Rebekah Gee told the Times-Picayune she can not substantiate those claims.
The issue may be a matter of communication. DHH spokesman Bob Johannessen stated the department did not ask about costs to organizations during planning, but rather asked them "how long it will take to replace references to Bayou Health and its logo with Healthy Louisiana ... and how long will it take to exhaust your current supply of materials that reference Bayou Health and its logo."
Edwards, meanwhile, suggested Healthy Louisiana is a key initiative of his administration and key part of the effort to educate state residents about the expansion.