percent of the di ff erence between the amount billed and the amount actually paid to the medical provider in considera Ɵ on of the claimant's cost of procurement of health insurance. This amount shall be used to compensate a claimant for any diminu Ɵ on in the claimant's patrimony and for such expenses as payment of all, or part, of the premium for the health insurance issuer providing bene fi ts to the claimant for treatment of bodily injuries sustained. The amount actually paid by a health insurance issuer, any cost sharing amount, and the amount billed, paid, or to be paid by the health insurance issuer or Medicare, obligated to pay such expenses shall be discoverable to permit the calcula Ɵ on of the thirty percent di ff erence and shall be admissible to the trier of fact. The jury, however, shall be informed only of the amount billed by a medical provider for medical treatment. Whether any person has paid or has agreed to pay, in whole or in part, any of a claimant's medical expenses shall not be disclosed to the jury. HB 423 has been vetoed by the Governor. ACT 149 (SB 219) was introduced by Sen. Patrick McMath (SD 11-R). The ACT provides for much needed addi Ɵ onal transparency in the process of demutualiza Ɵ on. This legisla Ɵ on is a result of the unsuccessful e ff orts earlier this year by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana to be acquired by Elevance. MATERNAL HEALTH: As we’ve seen in the last 3 regular sessions, women’s health issues con Ɵ nue to produce a myriad of legisla Ɵ on here in Louisiana. LSMS tracked (tracking does not equate to having posi Ɵ ons on…) 26 bills in this
facets of the insurance industry: health, property and casualty, auto, life and workers comp. For the most part, the workers compensa Ɵ on and automobile insurance legisla Ɵ on had the most poten Ɵ al to impact physicians. A signi fi cant amount of energy was expended to fi ght legisla Ɵ on in these two areas. Ul Ɵ mately, e ff orts to oppose or amend legisla Ɵ on proved successful. Workers comp legisla Ɵ on to set a physician fee schedule, increase burdens on employees and open medical records to employers all failed to pass. * HB 392 was o ff ered by Rep. Aimee Freeman (HD 98 – D). Rep. Freeman worked with Sen. Thomas Pressly (SD 38 – R) to o ff er substan Ɵ ve amendments to HB 392 on the Senate fl oor. As passed, Rep. Freeman’s legisla Ɵ on requires any health insurer o ff ering coverage in Louisiana to cover any medically necessary care or treatment for menopause and perimenopause. Furthermore, the insurer shall not require a prior authoriza Ɵ on or otherwise subject a pa Ɵ ent to a step -therapy or fail- fi rst policy or protocol for the administra Ɵ on or prescrip Ɵ on of any medica Ɵ on administered or prescribed for hormone replacement therapy used to treat symptoms of menopause and perimenopause. HB 423 was introduced by Rep. Michael Melerine (HD 6 – R). Rep. Melerine fi led his bill at the request of the Louisiana Associa Ɵ on of Business and Industry (LABI). The bill crosses several topic areas to include liability and tort reform. The change it makes to “collateral source” rules is what physicians have been concerned about. The fi nal version of this legisla Ɵ on allows the court to award up to thirty
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(NOTE: * Denotes legisla Ɵ on that is repeated in mul Ɵ ple categories.) A full list of LSMS tracked legisla Ɵ on that was enacted follows as a separate list. NONCOMPETES: Legisla Ɵ on a ff ec Ɵ ng how physician noncompete clauses in employment contracts are enforced passed this year and has been signed by Gov. Landry. ACT 273 (SB 165) was introduced by Sen. Patrick McMath (SD 11 – R). As passed, this legisla Ɵ on will impact all physicians. SB 165 will prohibit employers from enforcing noncompete clauses upon primary care physicians; de fi ned as a physician who predominantly prac Ɵ ces general family medicine, general internal medicine, general pediatrics, general obstetrics, or general gynecology a Ō er three years. It will also prohibit enforcement of noncompete clauses upon all other physicians a Ō er fi ve years, depending upon respec Ɵ ve contracts. Rela Ɵ ve to “evergreen” contracts, as they auto- renew a Ō er January 1, 2025, the three-year (primary care) and fi ve- year (specialists) Ɵ me frames begin. Thus, upon renewal, once the applicable Ɵ me frame runs, an employer will no longer be able to enforce a non-compete clause against the physician. As a note, ACT 273 applies to all en ƟƟ es including non-pro fi t organiza Ɵ ons. The FTC ruling is being challenged rela Ɵ ve to the Commissions’ jurisdic Ɵ on and authority over non-pro fi t organiza Ɵ ons. INSURANCE: This year, legisla Ɵ on fi led impacted all
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