ENROLLED
2022 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 111
BY REPRESENTATIVE STAGNI
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health to examine options to improve
reimbursement rates for residential substance abuse treatment facilities in the state.
WHEREAS, in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic spread throughout the state,
some costs associated with securing quality providers, transportation, and dietary needs for
our critically fragile substance abuse patients skyrocketed; and
WHEREAS, even with the workforce slowly returning back to its pre-pandemic
operations, residential substance abuse treatment reimbursement rates are behind nursing
home and psychiatric inpatient rates; and
WHEREAS, there is continuous competition for essential behavioral health providers
in the state; and
WHEREAS, the level of acuity of patients seeking services at residential substance
abuse facilities continues to rise; and
WHEREAS, Louisiana risks unintended outcomes and potential safety concerns for
those in desperate need of addiction treatment; and
WHEREAS, in 2020, nearly ninety-two thousand people died in the United States
from drug overdose; and
WHEREAS, in 2015, unintentional poisoning from a drug overdose was the number
one cause of injury-related death in the United States for adults ages twenty-five to sixty-
four, killing more than forty thousand people annually; and
WHEREAS, according to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics (NCDAS),
fifty-three million, or nineteen and four-tenths percent, of people ages twelve and older have
used illegal drugs or misused prescription drugs within the last year; and
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WHEREAS, NCDAS finds that one hundred sixty-five million, or sixty and two-
tenths percent, of Americans ages twelve and older currently abuse drugs if alcohol and
tobacco are included; and
WHEREAS, the Medicaid program in this state currently reimburses residential
substance abuse treatment providers at a rate that is thirty percent lower than Mississippi.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health to explore and consider all options
available to improve reimbursement rates for residential substance abuse treatment providers
to ensure stable and quality services for those with behavioral healthcare needs.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Louisiana Department of Health shall study
all of the following:
(1) Rate comparison and service array relative to Mississippi.
(2) Analysis of rising costs and the impact of COVID-19.
(3) The feasibility of the use of Opioid Legal Settlement Funds in a trust fund, a
self-assessed provider fee to improve funding through federal matching options, or any
combination of the two.
(4) Analysis of parity between psychiatric inpatient rates and inpatient substance
abuse rates.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Louisiana Department of Health shall make
a written report of its findings and recommendations, including but not limited to
suggestions for mechanisms for rate increases, to the Legislature of Louisiana no later than
January 1, 2023.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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