Lake Charles council approves local hospital assessment to unlock federal Medicaid match

City of Lake Charles council members voted to adopt a resolution setting the local hospital assessment rate that will allow local hospitals to access federal Medicaid matching funds through the Louisiana Department of Health.

"The city will invoice and collect the assessment, then transfer those dollars to the state to be used by the state to draw down those matching federal funds," said Mr. Newell, the presenter for the program at the start of the meeting. He told council members the city's role is to assess, invoice and transfer proceeds; the state and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will handle federal reimbursement to hospitals.

Dr. Allison Jones, medical staff president at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital, told the council the program provides "extra funding that goes out to help us provide better care for all the patients in Southwest Louisiana." She said the money is Medicaid-participation funding that helps hospitals close a reimbursement gap so they can retain staff and maintain local specialty services.

Devin Hyde, president and CEO of Lake Charles Memorial Health System, identified himself and said he had no additional clarification beyond Mr. Newell and Dr. Jones but was available to answer questions. Council members asked whether patients would incur any new costs; presenters answered that the assessment is paid by participating hospitals to trigger federal matching and "no extra cost" is passed to Medicaid patients.

The resolution allows the city to retain $150,000 annually to cover administrative expenses related to invoicing and transfers. Council then approved the rate-setting resolution for the 2026–27 state fiscal year; Weatherford was recorded as abstaining and the measure was adopted by majority vote.