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Regular Session, 2014 ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON NO. 62
BY SENATOR MILLS AND REPRESENTATIVE BARROW
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON
To urge and request the Department of Health and Hospitals to seek a Medicaid state plan
amendment from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to include as a
Medicaid service the Tdap vaccine for pregnant women and to provide a cost
analysis to the legislature for providing this Medicaid service.
WHEREAS, pertussis, more commonly known as whooping cough, is a highly
contagious bacterial disease that is potentially fatal to infants; and
WHEREAS, although many childhood diseases have been nearly eliminated by
vaccinations, incidences of pertussis among adults, adolescents, and young infants have
increased sharply over the past decade; and
WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2013 Provisional
Pertussis Surveillance Report found one hundred sixty-six cases of pertussis in Louisiana
that could have been prevented through the administration of a Tdap vaccine; and
WHEREAS, while most infants are given immunizations against pertussis, they do
not begin the series of vaccinations until they are two months of age and are probably not
protected until they have had at least three doses; and
WHEREAS, unvaccinated adults and adolescents can contract and spread this serious
disease without realizing it, as the symptoms in an adult may resemble a common cold or
bronchitis; and
WHEREAS, research has shown that up to eighty percent of babies catch pertussis
from family members, usually a parent; and
WHEREAS, the spread of pertussis may be limited by increasing the vaccination rate
among pregnant women, parents, and family members; and SCR NO. 62 ENROLLED
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WHEREAS, Act No. 159 of the 2013 Regular Session requires a hospital to offer the
Tdap vaccination to each parent of a newborn infant prior to discharge from the hospital; and
WHEREAS, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends
pregnant women receive the Tdap vaccination during pregnancy.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
urge and request the Department of Health and Hospitals to seek a Medicaid state plan
amendment from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to include as a Medicaid
service the Tdap vaccine for pregnant women and to provide a cost analysis to the legislature
for providing this Medicaid service.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES