SLS 20RS-568 ORIGINAL
2020 Regular Session
SENATE BILL NO. 295
BY SENATOR BARROW
GROUP BENEFITS PROGRAM. Requires program to cover treatment of severe obesity.
(8/1/20)
1 AN ACT
2 To enact R.S. 42:860, relative to the state Office of Group Benefits; to require coverage for
3 treatment for severe obesity; to provide for certain requirements; and to provide for
4 related matters.
5 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
6 Section 1. R.S. 42:860 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
7 ยง860. Severe obesity; legislative findings; coverage required
8 A. The legislature hereby finds and declares that obesity is a significant
9 health problem affecting hundreds of thousands of Louisiana residents. Severe
10 obesity increases the mortality rate more than threefold, causes physical and
11 emotional disability, and is often associated with comorbid health conditions,
12 including hypertension, cardiopulmonary conditions, and diabetes, all of which
13 compound the impact of obesity on longevity and quality of life. Louisiana
14 residents with obesity are ninety percent more likely to have diabetes and fifty
15 percent more likely to have high blood pressure than those who are not obese.
16 Therapeutic interventions can alter the course and severity of obesity and severe
17 obesity has been successfully treated through established surgical treatments.
Page 1 of 2
Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 295
SLS 20RS-568 ORIGINAL
1 B. As used in this Section, the term
2 (1) "Severe obesity" means either of the following:
3 (a) A body mass index equal to or greater than forty kilograms per meter
4 squared.
5 (b) A body mass index equal to or greater than thirty-five kilograms per
6 meter squared along with an associated comorbidity including but not limited
7 to hypertension, cardiopulmonary condition, sleep apnea, or diabetes.
8 (2) "Body mass index" means a practical marker used to assess the
9 degree of obesity, calculated by dividing the weight in kilograms by the height
10 in meters squared.
11 C. The Office of Group Benefits programs shall offer a provision stating
12 that benefits shall be payable for the treatment of severe obesity through gastric
13 bypass surgery or other methods recognized by the National Institutes of Health
14 as effective for the long-term reversal of severe obesity.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Cheryl B. Cooper.
DIGEST
SB 295 Original 2020 Regular Session Barrow
Proposed law defines "severe obesity" as a body mass index (BMI) of at least 40 or a BMI
of at least 35 along with comorbidity or existing medical conditions such as hypertension,
cardiopulmonary condition, sleep apnea, fatty liver disease, or diabetes.
Proposed law requires the Office of Group Benefits to offer a provision stating that benefits
shall be payable for the treatment of severe obesity through bariatric surgery or other
methods recognized by the National Institutes of Health as effective for the long-term
reversal of severe obesity.
Effective August 1, 2020.
(Adds R.S. 42:860)
Page 2 of 2
Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions.