Fred Cerise removed as LSU health care leader - FOX 8 WVUE New Orleans News, Weather, Sports

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - After clashing with Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration over budget cuts, the LSU System's top health care leader was ousted Friday from his role overseeing the university's network of public hospitals and clinics.

Fred Cerise disagreed with Jindal administration cuts that stripped hundreds of millions of dollars from the LSU safety-net health care system that cares for the poor and uninsured and repeatedly defended a hospital system the governor says needs modernizing. Appointees by the Republican governor fill nearly all the positions on the university system's governing board.

Cerise's replacement was announced by LSU with no explanation for the change. Cerise confirmed his removal as the hospital system's leader in an e-mail to The Associated Press, saying the news was delivered to him by LSU System President William Jenkins.

"I was notified yesterday by Dr. William Jenkins that I will no longer lead the LSU Health System," wrote Cerise, a doctor and health care secretary for former Gov. Kathleen Blanco, a Democrat.

Jindal spokesman Kyle Plotkin wouldn't directly respond Friday to questions about whether the governor had a hand in Cerise's removal.

"That's a decision for the board and the LSU System president. With the changing environment in health care today, LSU's health system needs a leader who can implement reforms that deliver services more efficiently," Plotkin said in an e-mail.

Cerise, a former CEO of LSU's hospital in Baton Rouge, has been an ardent defender of the current university-run health care system, which includes 10 hospitals and dozens of outpatient clinics. He's disputed Jindal administration claims that the system is outdated and in need of sweeping change, and in his statement Friday, Cerise talked of the public hospital system's accomplishments.

"The integrated model of service delivery and reimbursement we have established at LSU is a model for efficient and effective care that health care policy experts recognize as essential if we are to contain costs and improve care across large populations in the U.S.," he said.

Contacted by phone, Cerise wouldn't provide details about what led to his removal from a leadership role. His contract with LSU goes until 2015, so he will keep an LSU job for now, though it was unclear what he'll do at the university system.

"Dr. Jenkins has given me some time for me to think about what's the right place and the right fit," said Cerise, who had been vice president for health affairs and medical education since 2007.

Jenkins announced that Frank Opelka, vice chancellor for clinical affairs at the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, will take over leadership of the hospital system. Opelka is being given a newly created job: executive vice president for health care and medical education redesign.

"Dr. Opelka's distinguished career and his wealth of experience will go a long way toward the immediate and long-range changes needed in health care delivery in the state of Louisiana," Jenkins said of the surgeon in a statement.

The Jindal administration decided to levy much of an ongoing federal Medicaid cut on the LSU-run network of hospitals and outpatient clinics. LSU is using stopgap funding to stave off many of the immediate cuts to the health system that cares for the uninsured and trains many of Louisiana's medical professionals.

But state Health and Hospitals Secretary Bruce Greenstein has said continued drops in financing should be expected annually. Estimates are that the cuts will strip about a quarter of the hospital system's more than $1 billion budget.

Jindal and the governor's allies on the LSU Board of Supervisors have said the hospitals need to be updated, and the safety-net system of care needs to be reworked.

"Frank's expertise and guidance will be valuable to us as we modernize our methods of delivering health care while adjusting to our financial realities in producing a sustainable, community-involved health care system that meets our residents' needs," Jenkins said.

Cerise had been a prominent supporter of the existing model, and LSU leaders made it clear he was being marginalized in discussions of a health care system revamp. At a legislative hearing earlier this summer, LSU board member Bobby Yarborough told lawmakers that Cerise wouldn't be making the decisions.

Cerise also ran afoul of the Jindal administration by suggesting the hospitals could be helped by the federal health care law pushed by President Barack Obama.

As LSU leaders sought suggestions for how to cut costs, Cerise suggested using bridge funds to keep all university-run health facilities open until 2014, then tapping into Medicaid expansion dollars available under the federal law.

Jindal, a Republican, is refusing to expand Medicaid in Louisiana, calling it too expensive for states and the federal government. The governor is pushing for repeal of the health care law.