HB 405 amends Louisiana law to establish licensure requirements for acupuncturists. It requires practitioners to hold active certification from the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) and pass its certification exam, including the Biomedicine portion. The bill updates the legal reference to the certifying organization's name to match its current official title. This directly affects individuals seeking to practice acupuncture in Louisiana by setting standardized certification criteria. The bill is currently in committee referral and has not yet been enacted.
HB 779 allows Louisiana doctors, nurses, and physician assistants to prescribe antibiotics to a patient’s sexual partner for certain sexually transmitted infections (STIs) like chlamydia, gonorrhea, or trichomoniasis - without requiring a direct exam or doctor-patient relationship with the partner. It requires providers to give the patient a written document to share with their partner, detailing the prescribed treatment. The bill also grants legal protection to healthcare providers who follow these guidelines in good faith. This policy directly affects patients diagnosed with eligible STIs and their partners, aiming to improve treatment access while reducing infection spread.
This bill is a formal request from the Louisiana legislature to the U.S. Congress and federal health agencies to speed up research and clinical trials for Acute Myeloid Leukemia. It does not create new laws or change funding directly but instead asks federal officials to prioritize efforts to develop better treatments for this aggressive blood cancer. The resolution also names these proposed research efforts the "Jonas A. Feeley Act" to honor a recent victim of the disease. Ultimately, the measure serves as a symbolic gesture to advocate for increased federal attention on improving survival rates for patients with this condition.
HB 77 requires the Lincoln Parish Clerk of Court to pay 100% of group insurance premiums (including life, health, dental, and medical expense coverage) for qualifying retirees. It directly affects former Lincoln Parish Clerk of Court employees who retire with at least 20 years of full-time service, are age 55 or older, and begin receiving retirement benefits immediately upon retirement. The bill specifically covers standard group insurance plans but excludes supplemental insurance options. This provision is limited to Lincoln Parish and applies only to retirees meeting these exact service and age requirements.
This bill updates Louisiana law to clarify the roles of nurses in administering medications within public health clinics. It allows registered nurses, nurse practitioners, and advanced practice registered nurses to insert subcutaneous medication implants and distribute certain medications for treating sexually transmitted diseases or preventing pregnancy under physician-approved protocols. Additionally, the bill permits these licensed nurses to administer reconstituted medications for intravenous therapy when used according to the medication's labeling, while explicitly stating that this process does not constitute compounding. The changes apply specifically to nurses employed by municipal, parochial, or state-operated public health clinics and require adherence to established procedures and protocols.
SB 30 prohibits Louisiana state agencies and licensing boards from banning telehealth services for evaluating, diagnosing, or treating obesity and related metabolic conditions. It directly affects licensed healthcare providers who use telehealth to deliver these services. The bill requires that providers may prescribe FDA-approved or compounded noncontrolled medications via telehealth while operating within their license scope and standard of care. This policy change removes regulatory barriers to telehealth for these specific conditions, without altering existing licensure requirements.
SB 32 establishes the Perinatal Bereavement Care Initiative within Louisiana's Department of Health to improve support for families experiencing pregnancy loss or infant death. The bill requires hospitals providing maternity care to receive staff training on supporting grieving parents, access to bereavement resources (like counseling referrals), and perinatal bereavement devices. It prioritizes hospitals serving high-risk patients, delivering many babies, or lacking current bereavement resources. The initiative can fund these services using voluntary monies, including federal grants and donations, without imposing new taxes.
SB 113 establishes a backup mechanism for Louisiana's Local Healthcare Provider Participation Program in Calcasieu Parish. If the parish fails to authorize a local hospital assessment payment by June 1, 2026, municipalities within the parish with populations over 60,000 may independently authorize such assessments for healthcare providers operating within their city limits. The bill treats these municipalities as equivalent to parishes for compliance purposes, requiring them to meet the same program requirements. This procedural bill directly affects Calcasieu Parish and its larger municipalities, clarifying governance authority for healthcare funding.
SB 221 establishes that "treatment-in-place" services - where ambulance providers assess and treat patients at the scene of a 911 call without transporting them - must be covered under Louisiana's Medicaid program (medical assistance program). Ambulance providers (excluding air ambulance services) will be reimbursed at existing Medicaid fee schedule rates for these services, without requiring real-time video or audio communication with a doctor for reimbursement. The bill mandates that such services follow medical protocols and the provider's scope of practice, while the Louisiana Department of Health will create implementing rules. This directly affects Medicaid beneficiaries receiving non-transport emergency care and ambulance providers who serve them.
SB 253 prevents Louisiana's professional licensing boards from banning healthcare providers with prescriptive authority from prescribing peptides shipped from FDA-registered 503B facilities or FDA-registered compounding pharmacies. It directly affects doctors and other licensed prescribers who currently use such peptide sources. The bill requires providers to verify that prescribed peptides are not on the FDA's prohibited compounding list. This law aims to remove regulatory barriers for access to specific peptide treatments while ensuring compliance with federal FDA guidelines.