Through My Choice Louisiana, the State will provide transition planning and support, as well as screening and evaluations to all Medicaid eligible individuals with serious mental illness who are currently in a nursing facility. The State will look to improve on diverting individuals with serious mental illness to appropriate community-based services in lieu of nursing facility placement.
From paragraph 4 of the Agreement, stating the purpose: “With this Agreement, the Parties intend to achieve the goals of serving individuals with serious mental illness in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs, to honor the principles of self-determination and choice, and to provide quality services in integrated settings to achieve these goals.” LDH has named this new program “My Choice Louisiana” to reflect two of the key principles discussed in the Agreement, self-determination and choice.
My Choice Louisiana follows a review by the Department of Justice in December of 2016 that claimed Louisiana was unnecessarily relying on nursing facilities to serve people with serious mental illness. The Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, requires these individuals receive services in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs. Based on assessments, this may mean in a setting that is less restrictive than a nursing facility such as care in a home or community-based setting.
The Department recently completed the first draft of the initial implementation plan and it was submitted to the DOJ on September 14, 2018. This initial implementation plan will cover activities for the first 18 months of the agreement, between June 6, 2018 and December 6, 2019. LDH has begun conducting outreach activities with providers and other stakeholders in order to create awareness of the agreement and to collect feedback on issues related to implementation. After the plan is approved by our Subject Matter Expert and the DOJ, we will post it on this website.
The Louisiana Department of Health is seeking input from stakeholders and interested parties to assist in the development of a vision for a modern and comprehensive crisis system of care. Such as system will allow people to remain in their communities and reduce the need for restrictive levels of care and/or the need for law enforcement involvement.