Released: March 30, 2006

Baton Rouge – The Health Care Commission of the Department of Insurance and the Louisiana Health Care Alliance (LHCA) will co - sponsor a health care symposium: “A New Vision for Health Care.” The day-long symposium will convene in the Department of Insurance Plaza Conference Room at 10:00 AM, April 18, 2006. It will address the changing landscape of health care for the private employer and government agency.

“Health care is one of the biggest challenges facing employers today,” said Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon. “I am delighted that our Health Care Commission has the opportunity to join forces with LHCA as we all seek to further explore and understand the issues at hand. The challenges we face will test our abilities as a state government and as employers to address the needs of our employees and citizens in the Louisiana health care arena.”

The featured speaker for the symposium is Sean Sullivan, President and Chief Executive Officer, Institute for Health and Productivity Management (IHPM) and Initiative for Value-Based Health Benefits. Mr. Sullivan is recognized worldwide as an expert on how to measure and examine health care costs. The Institute’s productivity model focuses on identifying the costs of poor health and its effects of poor health on health care costs and benefits.

Donelon adds, “With more and more companies struggling to compete and survive amidst increases in the cost of employee health benefits, we need to concentrate on finding long-term solutions for these issues in Louisiana.”

To register for the symposium, please contact Vanessa Vince, Louisiana Department of Insurance, (225) 342-5075 or vvince@ldi.state.la.us. For more information visit our Web site at www.ldi.state.la.us.

The Department of Insurance is located in the Poydras Building at 1702 North Third Street, behind the State Capitol on Capitol Lake.

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