ENROLLED
2023 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 201
BY REPRESENTATIVES FISHER, HUGHES, LARVADAIN, MCMAHEN, DUSTIN
MILLER, MOORE, SCHLEGEL, SELDERS, AND STAGNI
A RESOLUTION
To urge and request the chairman of the House Committee on Health and Welfare to create
a subcommittee to study the effectiveness of sickle cell healthcare treatment
practices in this state.
WHEREAS, according to the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH), there is an
estimated eighty infants born with sickle cell disease in Louisiana each year; and
WHEREAS, the Medicaid program in Louisiana provides healthcare coverage to
approximately three thousand patients with sickle cell disease in the state each year; and
WHEREAS, health outcomes for individuals with sickle cell disease are far worse
compared to those individuals living without the disease; and
WHEREAS, patients with sickle cell disease experience shorter life expectancies, a
higher rate of stroke, and longer wait times to see physicians and receive medications; and
WHEREAS, as it relates to hospitalization statistics, patients with sickle cell disease
commonly return to the hospital within a thirty-day time period from being discharged; and
WHEREAS, according to LDH, the goal of the business plan for the 2023-2024
Fiscal Year is to build the foundations for the healthcare systems to monitor the health of
patients with sickle cell disease in this state and to allow such patients to reach their fullest
health potential; and
WHEREAS, in an effort to foster a more efficient system to care for the patients with
sickle cell disease in this state, the Legislature of Louisiana enacted Act No. 647 of the 2022
Regular Session; and
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WHEREAS, Act No. 647 of the 2022 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature
charged the Louisiana Department of Health to develop the Louisiana Sickle Cell Disease
(SCD) Registry, known as the Skylar-Cooper Database; and
WHEREAS, the steering committee for the registry conducted an assessment and
provided recommendations in furtherance of developing the registry; and
WHEREAS, while such efforts from the Legislature of Louisiana have contributed
to the advancement of sickle cell healthcare programs, it is the duty of the legislators in this
state to ensure the effectiveness of such efforts.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the chairman of the House Committee
on Health and Welfare to form a subcommittee to study the effectiveness of sickle cell
healthcare treatment practices in this state.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the chairman of the House Committee on Health
and Welfare or his designee shall serve as chairman of the subcommittee at its initial
meeting to be held before September 15, 2023.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that on or before February 1, 2024, the subcommittee
established by this Resolution shall submit to the House Committee on Health and Welfare
and the David R. Poynter Legislative Research Library a written report of its findings and
recommendations.
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
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