Could Huey P. Long Medical Center be closed, privatized, or cut to cover another LSU hospital’s deficit?

Plain-English summary

A legislator asked what Act 220 meant for Huey P. Long Medical Center after its placement under LSU Health Sciences Center at Shreveport. The 2013 opinion said the medical center or its emergency room could not be closed without legislative approval. Its funds and personnel also could not be reduced to cover a deficit or emergency at another center in the LSU group.

The AG distinguished that protection from ordinary state budget reductions. It said the Act did not categorically prohibit privatization or a lease, but whether a particular management contract or privatization could proceed without legislative action depended on its terms. LSU Health Sciences Center at Shreveport retained overall responsibility. Employee benefit changes remained subject to applicable civil service and health science center rules.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2013. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Historical summary

Hospital administrators and legislators

The opinion treated closure as requiring legislative approval and cross-center deficit transfers as restricted. It did not say the Act insulated the center from every state budget reduction.

Medical center employees

The AG said Act 220 did not itself resolve benefit reductions caused by a fiscal emergency; employee rights remained governed by applicable civil service and health science center rules.

Common questions

Could the center or its emergency room close without a legislative vote?

No. The AG identified an express legislative-approval requirement in the Act.

Could Huey P. Long staff or funds be cut to cover another LSU center's deficit?

The AG said the Act prohibited that specific offset between centers.

Did the Act ban privatization or a management contract?

No categorical ban appeared in the Act, according to the AG. Whether a particular deal required legislative action depended on its precise terms, and LSU Health Sciences Center at Shreveport retained overall accountability.

Were staff benefits insulated from any reduction?

The AG did not say that. It directed benefit questions to the applicable civil service and health science center rules.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion interpreted Act 220's provisions codified in La. R.S. 17:1518.1. It examined limits on cross-center fund and staff reductions, closure, management responsibility, and employee rights. The AG expressly limited its answer to that Act rather than resolving every other legal authority that might affect a transaction.

Citations

• La. R.S. 17:1518.1(E)(2): protection against offsetting another center's deficit.
• La. R.S. 17:1518.1(F): closure and service-reduction limits.
• La. R.S. 17:1518.1(C): employee rights provision.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/13-0108

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain — the linked PDF is authoritative.

~tate .of 1fi.ouisiana
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
P.O. BOX 94005
BATON ROUGE

JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWELL
70804-9005
ATIORNEY GENERAL

AUG 2 7 2013'
OPINION 13-0108

62-B LEGISLATURE -Acts & Bills

La. R.S. 17:1518, et seq.

Act No. 220 of the 2007 Legislative Session specifically addresses the closure of the Huey P. Long Medical Center ("Huey P. Long") as
Honorable Herbert B. Dixon
well as the reduction of its funding and personnel in a fiscal
emergency or budget deficit. The Act does not specifically prohibit
State Representative-District 26
another entity from directly managing the Center nor does it explicitly
804 Broadway Avenue
prevent the privatization of Huey P. Long.

Alexandria, Louisiana 71302

Dear Representative Dixon:

Our office has received your opinion request regarding Act No. 220 of the 2007 Legislative Session ("Act") and the Huey P. Long Medical Center ("Huey P. Long"). The Act specifically put Huey P. Long under the management of Louisiana State University Health Science Center at Shreveport ("LSU HSC Shreveport"). Specifically you have asked the following questions:

(1) Under the Act, can funding or personnel for Huey P. Long be reduced because of budget deficits or fiscal emergencies?
(2) Under the Act, can Huey P. Long be closed, privatized or managed by a different provider other than LSU HSC Shreveport without specific action of the legislature?
(3) Under the Act, can Huey P. Long employees' personnel benefits be reduced because of budget deficits or fiscal emergencies?

Your qu.estions, as noted above, specifically ask our office to interpret Act No. 220 of the 2007 Legislative Session. There may be other statutes and authority that could impact a more general response to your request, but those are not the subject of your inquiry.

We reiterate that the purpose of the Act was to move Huey P. Long from LSU HSC New Orleans to LSU HSC Shrev~port .. The Act made Huey P. Long an organizational unit under LSU HSC Shreveport. La. R.S. 17:1518(E)(1): LSU HSC Shreveport includes Huey P. Long, E.A. Conway Medical Center at Monroe, LSU Shreveport Medical School and LSU Hospital at Shreveport. La. R.S. 17:3215(7).

Page 2

OPINION 13-0108
Honorable Herbert Dixon
Page 2

Under the Act, can funding or personnel for Huey P. Long be reduced because of budget deficits or fiscal emergencies?

The funding for Huey P. Long and its personnel cannot be reduced based on budget deficits or fiscal emergencies to offset or compensate for deficits or emergencies in the other center according to La. R.S. 17:1518.1 (E)(2). It specifically states:

In the event of a bUdget deficit or fiscal emergency, neither funds nor personnel shall be reduced from either the Huey P. Long Medical Center or the health science center to offset or compensate for sLich deficit or . emergency in the other center.

La. R.S. 17:1518.1(E)(2).1 Other center refers to the entities within LSU HSC Shreveport.

However, this Act does not protect Huey P. Long from State general budget reductions except as it affects La. R.S. 17:1518.1(F), which provides:

The health science center shall not authorize the Huey P. Long Medical Center to reduce health care services provided by the facility in any manner that causes annual expenditures for the facility to be reduced on an annualized basis by greater than thirty-five percent of the previous year actual spending level.

Under the Act. can Huey P. Long be closed, privatized or managed by a different provider other than LSU HSC Shreveport without specific action of the legislature?

La. R.S. 17:1518.1(F) specifically prevents the closure of Huey P. Long or its emergency room without legislative approval. It states in pertinent part: "Neither the Huey P. Long Medical Center nor the emergency room shall be closed without legislative approval." La. R.S. 17:1518.1(F).

Although the Act addresses certain funding issues and prohibits the complete closure of Huey P. Long without legislative approval, it does not specifically address in under what conditions Huey P. Long may be privatized. Therefore, whether privatization is allowed without the specific action of the Legislature would depend 6n the precise terms and conditions of the proposed privatization. 2

It is important to note that within LSU HSC Shreveport's appropriation schedule (budget), Huey P.
Long is required to have a separate line item. La. R.S. 17:1518.1 (E)(1). Thus, the State funds LSU HSC Shreveport, and from that, LSU HSC Shreveport will appropriate its funds to those within it like Huey P. Long. The prohibition on the reduction of funds is specific to Huey P. Long's bUdgetary appropriation from LSU HSC Shreveport. 2 The LSU Board of Supervisors, who oversees LSU HSC Shreveport, has the authority to "rent or lease its property, of whatever nature and kind and enter into any kind or nature of contracts, for the best advantage of the institution." La. R.S. 17:1517(E).

Page 3

OPINION 13·0108
Honorable Herbert Dixon
Page 3

The overall responsibility for the management of Huey P. Long is specifically articulated in La. RS. 17:1518.1 (B). It provides, in pertinent part:

Management of the Huey P. Long Medical Center shall be the responsibility of the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center at Shreveport, office of the chancellor, which shall have authority to exercise all power to direct, control, supervise, and manage the medical center.

Whether the management of Huey P. Long can be contracted out without legislative approval depends on the specific terms of the proposed management contract. While LSU HSC Shreveport has the general responsibility for Huey P. Long, that does not prevent the LSU Board of Supervisors from entering into most contracts or leases in accordance with La. RS. 17:1517(E). However, the overall responsibility and accountability is left to LSU HSC Shreveport.

Under the Act. can Huey P. Long employees' personnel benefits be reduced because of budget deficits or fiscal emergencies?

The Act does not specifically address the effect of a budget deficit or fiscal emergency on the personnel benefits of Huey P. Long's employees. The Act provides that all Huey P. Long employees shall "maintain their rights, privileges, and benefits in accordance with all laws, rules, and regulations applicable to civil service employees and employees of the health science center." La. RS. 17:1518.1(C). Therefore, any reduction in employees' personnel benefits must be performed in accordance with all civil service rules and regulations.

In conclusion, the Act specifically prevents the reduction of funds and personnel for Huey P. Long to offset or compensate for deficits or emergencies in the other center (Le. within LSU HSC Shreveport). The Act also prohibits the closure of Huey P. Long or its emergency room without legislative approval. However, the Act does not prohibit the privatization or lease of Huey P. Long. Nor does the Act address the reduction of personnel benefits due to a budget deficit or fiscal emergency.

We hope that this opinion has adequately addressed the legal issues you have raised. If our office can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

With best regards,

JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWELL
ATTORNEY GENERAL

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Assistant Attorney General
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