2024 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 23
BY SENATOR BARROW
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health to perform a comprehensive study
on access to behavioral health services across the state.
WHEREAS, Louisiana is experiencing a mental health crisis, with over three million
people in the state of Louisiana living in communities that lack a sufficient number of mental
and behavioral health providers; and
WHEREAS, the opioid epidemic and the mental health crisis have contributed to an
increase in overdoses, suicides, and depression in the past two decades; and
WHEREAS, although behavioral health needs have increased, the number of
individuals receiving behavioral health services has not; and
WHEREAS, a 2023 report issued by the National Center for Health Workforce
Analysis projects the shortage of addiction counselors, marriage and family therapists,
mental health counselors, psychologists, and psychiatrists will continue to intensify for the
foreseeable future; and
WHEREAS, costs to patients, low reimbursement rates and administrative burdens
for behavioral health providers participating in insurance plans, and lack of coverage for
certain behavioral health provider types contribute to the behavioral health workforce
shortage; and
WHEREAS, Louisiana needs to identify ways to increase its behavioral health
workforce and address provider and patient-level barriers.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health to perform a comprehensive study on
access to behavioral health services across the state and to report the findings and
recommendations from the study to the legislature no later than February 1, 2025.
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department shall work in conjunction with
the Board of Regents, Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners, Louisiana State Board
of Examiners of Psychologists, Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of
Examiners, Louisiana State Board of Nursing, and Addictive Disorders Regulatory Authority
Board to complete the study.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study shall provide information and
recommendations on the following:
(1) Current behavioral health services covered by the Medicaid managed care
organizations and private insurance companies.
(2) The status of education programs for future behavioral health providers currently
offered in Louisiana.
(3) The capacity for higher education institutions to increase educational
opportunities for providers.
(4) Strategies for increasing access to behavioral health services in rural areas of the
state.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Louisiana Department of Health shall submit
a written report of its findings and recommendations to the legislature no later than February
1, 2025.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health, the commissioner of higher education, the
executive director of the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners, the executive director
of the Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists, the executive director of the
Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners, the executive director of
the Louisiana State Board of Nursing, and the executive director of the Addictive Disorders
Regulatory Authority Board.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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