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... Nola.com: NewsFlash - Blanco's 2-year health panel ends; questions about reform remain NEWSPAPER SEARCH FIND A BUSINESS NewsFlash Home | More Louisiana News Blanco's 2-year health panel ends; questions about reform remain 3/30/2006, 5:32 p.m.

CTBy MELINDA DESLATTE The Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La.

(AP) — Gov.

Kathleen Blanco's highly touted health care reform panel wrapped up its formal work Thursday, after two years of study that prompted bureaucratic changes and modest health care initiatives.

But the fundamental structures that deliver Louisiana's health care — and that were in place when Louisiana repeatedly received poor rankings for its health care services — remain intact.

Participants in the reform efforts pledged to continue working to improve Louisiana's health system.

They also acknowledged the effort so far has generated more ideas and administrative shuffling than concrete changes that anyone dependent on the state for health services would notice.

"It seems like it's more technical pieces of reform," said Barry Erwin, president of the nonpartisan Council for A Better Louisiana and a member of the panel.

"We are a long way from the end, and we've still got issues to address that this panel didn't address." Before the hurricanes, about 40 percent of Louisiana residents depended on some government health care services, and a third of the state's budget paid for health care.

But Louisiana was ranked as one of the least healthy states in t...

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