RÉSUMÉ DIGEST
ACT 372 (HB 79) 2021 Regular Session McMahen
Existing law provides that a treatment facility for a person with a mental illness or suffering
from a substance-related or addictive disorder shall be selected in the following order of
priority:
(1)Medical suitability.
(2)Least restriction of the person's liberty.
(3)Nearness to the patient's usual residence.
(4)Financial or other status of the patient.
New law adds that a patient's preference shall be the fifth consideration in this order of
priority.
New law provides that the geographic location for a public or private behavioral health
service provider licensed pursuant to existing law shall be defined to include the parish in
which the provider's business office is located, any parish contiguous to the parish in which
the office is located, and any distance within a fifty-mile radius of the office.
Effective August 1, 2021.
(Amends R.S. 28:2(39)(a)(intro. para.) and R.S. 40:2155(B))