New Orleans hospital size to get review

The state's new health secretary took exception to the size and projected cost of the new teaching hospital Louisiana State University hopes to build downtown, perhaps signaling that Gov. Bobby Jindal will decide in the next few months to redraw the ambitious plans developed under the previous administration. LSU has tried since the storm to persuade the public of the hospital's importance, arguing that it would revive charity care in the city and serve as a powerful recruitment tool for medical students, residents and physicians. Hospital executives from the private sector have called its $1.2 billion price tag excessive, however, and they appear to have found a sympathetic ear in Jindal.