A Blueprint for Louisiana’s “Financial Cliff” Year Creating the State We Deserve

Blueprint Louisiana Established in 2006 –Identify/Implement fundamental reforms that improve Louisiana’s long-term outlook Blueprint’s Reform Agenda –Ethics, PreK-12 education, workforce, health care, transportation infrastructure, coastal protection, and higher education

2011 – The State’s “Financial Cliff” Year Since last fall, Blueprint has been researching ideas to address the state budget shortfall for FY 2012 –Recommendations to generate savings and better leverage state dollars –Recommendations that also represent long-term reforms Budget cuts are necessary, but it matters how those cuts are made 3

A Blueprint for the “Financial Cliff” Year 14 research-driven recommendations –Includes estimated budget savings and/or new funds generated for each idea –Estimated $972 million to $1.64 billion in total savings and new funds to address the budget shortfall Organized into three primary topics –General recommendations for state government –Health care recommendations –Higher education recommendations 4

General Recommendations for State Government 5 1.Open up statutorily- protected funding 2. Reduce state workers by 9,486 over two years $100+ Million $235+ Million

General Recommendations for State Government (continued) 6 3. Reform state employee and teacher retirement systems 4. Be “smart on crime” by revising outdated sentencing and parole guidelines $25+ Million $2 to $6 Million

Health Care Recommendations 7 1. Implement a Medicaid coordinated care system 2. Reform the charity hospital system $20+ Million $50+ Million 3. Maximize federal matching funds for current state health expenditures $125 to $575 Million

Health Care Recommendations (continued) 8 4. Implement a hospital provider assessment to generate new state dollars for the federal match $245 Million 5. Strike the right balance of institutional, community, and home-based care $25+ Million

1. Sharpen the focus on academic performance and eliminate programs that do not meet acceptable standards Re-invest Millions Saved in Higher Education Higher Education Recommendations 9

Higher Education Recommendations (continued) Undertake and incentivize structural reforms Regionalization Reorganization Performance-based funding Enrollment balance Raising TOPS standards Civil service and benefits reform $25+ Million

Higher Education Recommendations (continued) Create management savings and efficiencies 4. Grant more operational freedom to institutions $20+ Million $10+ Million 5. Re-define the role of the legislature in setting tuition rates $90 to $300 Million

A Blueprint for Louisiana’s “Financial Cliff” Year Creating the State We Deserve