In a move that would result in the largest health system in the Gulf South, Lafayette General Health System announced Wednesday it is seeking a merger with Ochsner Health System.Why does this keep happening? The answer is classic disaster capitalism.
The board of trustees of both health systems signed a letter of intent for the merger Wednesday morning, Lafayette General announced. Both organizations will now enter into a period of due diligence and seek required regulatory approvals, which could take several months.
There's a perpetual ebb and flow in Louisiana where Bobby Jindal type grifters wreck the state budget followed by John Bel type bi-partisan dads who stabilize things by institutionalizing the damage to basic services. First the disaster, then the normalization of its destruction. Following along in the wake of these shocks is Ochsner which appears to be on pace to eat every hospital in the state. By the time it arrives on the scene, though, it looks to everyone like a savior.
The move was partially prompted by a "wake up call" after last year's state budget situation. A reduction in state funding forced Lafayette General to consider reducing services at University Hospitals and Clinics, to include possible closure of the hospital.
Lafayette General operates University Hospitals and Clinics as part of a public-private partnership that stopped it from being closed in 2012. Callecod said the merger will allow LGH to negotiate with the state for funding from a much stronger position.
"We very much as a system are at the whim of the legislature, and so certainly we do everything we can to make folks understand the great work we do there, but the reality is that this merger will allow us to be in a better position with the state as we're having those conversations because of Ochsner's reach throughout the state," Callecod said
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