HLS 22RS-3922 ORIGINAL
2022 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 111
BY REPRESENTATIVE STAGNI
HEALTH/LDH: Requests the Louisiana Department of Health to examine options to
improve reimbursement rates for residential substance abuse treatment facilities in
the state
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health to examine options to improve
3 reimbursement rates for residential substance abuse treatment facilities in the state.
4 WHEREAS, in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic spread throughout the state,
5some costs associated with securing quality providers, transportation, and dietary needs for
6our critically fragile substance abuse patients skyrocketed; and
7 WHEREAS, even with the workforce slowly returning back to its pre-pandemic
8operations, residential substance abuse treatment reimbursement rates are behind nursing
9home and psychiatric inpatient rates; and
10 WHEREAS, there is continuous competition for essential behavioral health providers
11in the state; and
12 WHEREAS, the level of acuity of patients seeking services at residential substance
13abuse facilities continues to rise; and
14 WHEREAS, Louisiana risks unintended outcomes and potential safety concerns for
15those in desperate need of addiction treatment; and
16 WHEREAS, in 2020, nearly ninety-two thousand people died in the United States
17from drug overdose; and
18 WHEREAS, in 2015, unintentional poisoning from a drug overdose was the number
19one cause of injury-related death in the United States for adults ages twenty-five to sixty-
20four, killing more than forty thousand people annually; and
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HCR NO. 111
1 WHEREAS, according to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics (NCDAS),
2fifty-three million, or nineteen and four-tenths percent, of people ages twelve and older have
3used illegal drugs or misused prescription drugs within the last year; and
4 WHEREAS, NCDAS finds that one hundred sixty-five million, or sixty and two-
5tenths percent, of Americans ages twelve and older currently abuse drugs if alcohol and
6tobacco are included; and
7 WHEREAS, the Medicaid program in this state currently reimburses residential
8substance abuse treatment providers at a rate that is thirty percent lower than Mississippi.
9 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
10urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health to explore and consider all options
11available to improve reimbursement rates for residential substance abuse treatment providers
12to ensure stable and quality services for those with behavioral healthcare needs.
13 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Louisiana Department of Health shall study
14all of the following:
15 (1) Rate comparison and service array relative to Mississippi.
16 (2) Analysis of rising costs and the impact of COVID-19.
17 (3) The feasibility of the use of Opioid Legal Settlement Funds in a trust fund, a
18self-assessed provider fee to improve funding through federal matching options, or any
19combination of the two.
20 (4) Analysis of parity between psychiatric inpatient rates and inpatient substance
21abuse rates.
22 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Louisiana Department of Health shall make
23a written report of its findings and recommendations, including but not limited to
24suggestions for mechanisms for rate increases, to the Legislature of Louisiana no later than
25January 1, 2023.
26 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
27secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health.
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HCR NO. 111
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 111 Original 2022 Regular Session Stagni
Requests the Louisiana Department of Health to examine options to improve reimbursement
rates for residential substance abuse treatment facilities in the state.
Requests a report of the department's findings no later than January 1, 2023.
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