Childers: We’re joined now by the Healthcare Chair for the State League of Women Voters of Louisiana, Linda Hawkins. Linda, thank you so much for being here- we appreciate your time.
Linda: thank you for having us.
Childers: ok so let’s get right to it you have come out in opposition actually the organization league of women voters have come out in opposition of Representative Cameron Henry’s plans for HB1… I guess the amendments. Is that correct?
Linda: that’s correct. The amendments came out Monday and we were there in the audience to go ahead and listen.
Childers: what specifically do you have a problem with?
Linda: the problem we had is that when we looked at it and that’s not having the details of course but when we looked at it we knew it was going to try and defund department of health and hospitals further. And department of health and hospitals has been hit over the years and we were to bare bones. And the other thing was a safety and security issue because under the health and hospitals the safety and security of the health of the people and the water systems also are effected so those were the two big ones and we knew we didn’t have the resources that were there.
Childers: and as the health care chair obviously you’re focused in on health care. You’re well versed on how these changes would affect the states charity and rural hospitals what’s new with HB1 as it relates to health care?
Linda: HB1 there was a long debate in the house yesterday and so what has now happened is they have originally with the amendment chairman henry wanted to go ahead and take the Governor’s budget and divide it up between all the hospitals. The problem with that was going to be was no one hospital would be funded enough to get through the year and our medical education graduate program which we train our physicians in would actually not work and so that would be if you don’t have the physicians to take care of the patients we would be in worst state than we are today.
Childers: and just a little history for the viewers, there were 2 proposals where we would take some of the money and go towards 5 hospitals 4 hospitals were going to be completely unfunded. Now that has gone, some of that money is going to all of the hospitals but not quite enough is that correct?
Linda: well initially that is what chairman henry did, he took the money and he just averaged it across and spread it now as of Thursday night I think at 9 o’clock there was some amendments some further amendments done and the house has now amended it and taken some of the moneys that was totally dedicated to the tops program which is very important and shifted it back to the hospitals because of the loss of those training positions in the other hospitals so they are getting funded at some level but this is just the beginning.
Childers: you look for more of these things to happen?
Linda: yes this is just the beginning of the process and the beginning of the process was that should have been Monday and we should have had an opportunity to speak to that and then Thursday night it was heard in the house and now it goes to the senate.
Childers: and you’re a little frustrated at this point because you filled out your card you went there to speak in opposition and then what happened?
Linda: well what happened was it wasn’t just our group it was the entire audience we were full that day and when you go into the hearings. You have the opportunity participatory government to go in and speak from a public standpoint and give them information. The chairman did not allow that he stifled government in terms of the participation of the public so the public didn’t have any kind of opportunity to share some information that we may have had that may have changed the vote.
Childers: and you feel like the chairman knows better.
Linda: oh the chairman absolutely knows better this was a tactic that has been used and has been used throughout but I think we as citizens and they are our representatives regardless of who they are representing they need to go ahead and they need to follow the process and allow us to participate in our government and they did not do that.
Childers: what do you look for in the special session that everyone thinks will definitely happen?
Linda: yeah I do think the special session, I think there’s a lot of opportunities there and we heard last, we heard Thursday night that apparently when they passed the budget for the private partnerships with our former government governor they did not they assigned blank papers, so the contracts came in but there was no writing on the contracts and they opposed and they went ahead and approved them so I think they’re gonna be a little more careful and maybe hopefully do their job better in terms of being better prepared that’s our hope and so I think they’re gonna have opportunities to look to see where else, and what else are we doing that’s not effective in this state. We have education healthcare we are 50th in the nation as of last October ranked we dropped we were 49th.
Childers: that’s not good?
Linda: we were 49th Mississippi is now 49th and Louisiana last October dropped to 50th ok and we also just got a report out 2 months ago that we are not prepared if there is a drastic emergency that comes into the state under health care and that was by the Robert wood foundation that we are not prepared as a state to take care from the health standpoint if we have another hurricane, if we have a tornado we have been caught we being the department of health and hospital has been cut to the bone that there is no more give.
Childers: what can the league of women voters do? I know you’re going to all of the committee meetings and all of the votes but is there anything else you can do to help with the hospitals.
Linda: yeah what we’re doing actually is I go around the state and try and educate the citizens engage them get them informed participate in this because they need to be educated. It’s one thing to have your representative but you have to watch what the representatives are doing and you gotta know what should be and should not be.
Childers: we’re absolutely a proponent to that, so thank you very much. Linda Hawkins with league of women voters.