HB 222 Louisiana House · 2026 Regular Session

MEDICAID: Requires Medicaid to cover dental procedures for certain Medicaid enrollees (EN +$784,370 GF EX See Note)

HB 222 requires Louisiana Medicaid to cover dental procedures when they are medically necessary for a patient to safely receive another Medicaid-covered medical treatment. This directly affects Medicaid enrollees who need dental care as a prerequisite for other covered medical procedures, such as surgeries or chronic condition management. The bill mandates the Louisiana Department of Health to update the state’s federal Medicaid plan, create necessary administrative rules, and submit required amendments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. It does not expand general dental coverage but targets specific cases where dental treatment is a medical necessity for other covered care.

Issues: ✓ Healthcare

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

May 2026

House Passage

May 2026

Senate Passage

May 2026

Signed into Law

Jun 2026

Introduced Feb 19, 2026 Signed Jun 2, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB222 Original → HB222 Act 629 · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill was enacted into law as Act 629, expanding Medicaid coverage to include medically necessary dental procedures required to clear a patient for other covered medical treatments. The text was updated to reflect its official passage, including the addition of numerous sponsoring representatives and the inclusion of signatures from the Speaker of the House, President of the Senate, and the Governor.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on Medicaid dental coverage for specific medical clearance scenarios, but its status changed from a proposed bill to an enacted law.

TECHNICAL

The bill title was changed from 'HB 222 Original' to 'HB 222 ENROLLED' and the session header was updated to reflect the final Act No. 629.

Signatures and approval lines for the Speaker of the House, President of the Senate, and Governor were added to formalize the bill's enactment.

Drafting notes, the original digest prepared by Legislative Services, and the abstract explaining the bill's purpose were removed as they are no longer needed for the final law.

REQUIREMENT

A long list of additional representatives was added to the sponsor list, indicating broader legislative support.

The word 'will' was changed to 'shall' in the statute text to legally mandate that the Medicaid program cover these specific dental procedures.

Floor votes · Senate May 25, 2026 · House Apr 27, 2026

How they voted

39–0

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 40

May 25, 2026

D Democratic12

11 Yea 1

91% Yea

R Republican28

28 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 29, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read by title, roll called, yeas 94, nays 0, Senate amendments concurred in.

lower

May 25, 2026

Upper · Passed

Rules suspended. The amended bill was read by title, passed by a vote of 38 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.

upper

May 19, 2026

Committee

Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.

upper

May 18, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported favorably.

upper

May 7, 2026

Committee

Read by title. Recommitted to the Committee on Finance.

upper

May 7, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate Committee amendments read and adopted.

upper

May 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported with amendments.

upper

Apr 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 99, nays 0. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.

lower

Apr 21, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported favorably (13-0).

lower

Mar 26, 2026

Committee

Read by title, ordered engrossed, recommitted to the Committee on Appropriations.

lower

Mar 25, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported favorably (8-0).

lower

Mar 9, 2026

Committee

Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Health and Welfare.

lower

Feb 19, 2026

Committee

Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Health and Welfare.

lower

1 primary · 35 co-sponsors