HLS 25RS-272 ORIGINAL
2025 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 382
BY REPRESENTATIVE BAYHAM
Prefiled pursuant to Article III, Section 2(A)(4)(b)(i) of the Constitution of Louisiana.
INSURANCE/HEALTH: Requires insurance coverage of home visiting services for
newborns and young children
1 AN ACT
2To enact R.S. 22:1059.6, relative to health insurance; to require coverage for home visiting
3 services provided after the birth of a child; to provide for legislative findings; to
4 provide for definitions; to authorize methods for reimbursement of expenses; to
5 provide for effectiveness; and to provide for related matters.
6Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
7 Section 1. R.S. 1059.6 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
8 ยง1059.6. Required coverage for home visiting services; newborns and young
9 children; legislative findings; reimbursement methods; definitions
10 A. The legislature hereby finds and affirms all of the following:
11 (1) Home visiting services are evidence-based deliveries of services to
12 families of newborns, or families expecting newborns, provided by trained
13 professionals in the home that begin anywhere from before the twenty-eighth week
14 of pregnancy and up to six weeks after the birth of a child and continuing from up
15 to two to five years after childbirth.
16 (2) Leading professional societies such as the American College of
17 Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, and
18 federal agencies such as the Health Resources and Services Administration and the
19 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, have recognized the well-established
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HB NO. 382
1 benefits of pre- and postpartum support services provided by voluntary home visiting
2 programs.
3 (3) Research demonstrates that support from home visiting programs is
4 associated with reduction of unnecessary emergency department visits and decreased
5 use of public assistance programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families,
6 the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and Medicaid; fewer children in
7 social welfare, mental health, and juvenile corrections systems; and positive impacts
8 on indicators related to cognitive development and behavior, including higher
9 intelligence quotients, language scores, grade-point averages, achievement scores,
10 and graduation rates.
11 (4) As Louisiana currently ranks as a state with one of the highest maternal
12 and infant mortality rates in the United States, this state has a compelling interest in
13 and an obligation to promote practices that improve maternal and infant health
14 outcomes.
15 B.(1) A health coverage plan delivered or issued for delivery in this state that
16 provides benefits for maternity services shall include coverage for voluntary home
17 visiting services provided through a home visiting program that includes at least one
18 visit during a newborn's first three months of life, with the opportunity for the family
19 to choose follow-up visits, and at least one follow-up visit no later than three months
20 after the last visit. A health coverage plan may limit the total number of visits to a
21 maximum of five visits from birth to age three.
22 (2) The coverage required pursuant to this Section may be subject to annual
23 deductibles, coinsurance, and copayment provisions as are consistent with those
24 established under the health coverage plan. The coverage may also be subject to a
25 limit per pregnancy or childbirth of not less than one thousand five hundred dollars.
26 (3)(a) The requirements established by a health coverage plan to insure the
27 support services provided by a home visiting program before, during, and after
28 childbirth shall not preclude a home visiting program from operating in this state.
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HB NO. 382
1 (b) A home visiting program may opt to practice in this state and forego any
2 eligible reimbursement via a health coverage plan; however, if the program aligns
3 with an evidence-based home visiting program model, it may provide services within
4 the state to whichever client or population desires its services.
5 (c) A health insurance issuer or health coverage plan may establish
6 additional criteria for approved home visiting services if the criteria allow at least
7 one provider to be covered by the plan.
8 (d) A health insurance issuer or health coverage plan, in its discretion, may
9 determine its method for reimbursement for expenses incurred for services provided
10 pursuant to this Section, including but not limited to utilization of any of the
11 following:
12 (i) A value-based payment methodology.
13 (ii) An invoice claim process.
14 (iii) A capitated payment arrangement.
15 (iv) A payment methodology that considers the need for an agency or
16 organization providing services under the program to expand its capacity to provide
17 services and address health disparities.
18 (v) Any other payment arrangement agreed to by the insurer and an agency
19 or organization providing services under the program.
20 (e) Nothing in this Subsection shall be construed to exclude coverage for
21 evidence-based home visiting programs which begin earlier during pregnancy nor
22 those extending services beyond age three.
23 C. For the purposes of this Section, the following definitions apply:
24 (1) "Evidence-based home visiting program" means a home visiting program
25 model that meets the criteria of the United States Department of Health and Human
26 Services for evidence-based early childhood home visiting service delivery models
27 as listed on the Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness registry.
28 (2) "Health coverage plan" means the same as the term is defined in R.S.
29 22:1059.
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HB NO. 382
1 Section 2. The provisions of this Act apply to any new policy, contract, or health
2coverage plan issued on and after January 1, 2027. Any policy, contract, or health coverage
3plan in effect prior to January 1, 2027, shall convert to conform to the provisions of this Act
4on or before the renewal date, but no later than January 1, 2028.
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)]
HB 382 Original 2025 Regular Session Bayham
Abstract: Requires health insurance coverage for home visiting services for newborns and
children up to age three.
Proposed law outlines legislative findings. Describes home visiting services as
evidence-based deliveries of services to families of newborns or families expecting
newborns. Provides that such services are supplied by trained professionals and begin from
the 28
th
week of pregnancy up to six weeks after birth, and continuing up to two to five years
old.
Proposed law provides that certain professional societies and federal agencies have
recognized the well-established benefits of support services provided by voluntary home
visiting programs. Makes a connection between home visitation and social impacts, stating
that home visits decrease the need for unnecessary emergency healthcare, public assistance
programs, social and mental welfare programs, and juvenile corrections. Further provides
that home visits have positive impacts on indicators of cognitive development and behavior.
Proposed law provides that the state of La. currently ranks among one of the highest
maternal and infant mortality rates in the U.S., and the state is compelled and obligated to
promote practices that improve maternal and infant health outcomes.
Proposed law requires a health coverage plan (plan) that provides benefits for maternity
services to cover voluntary home visiting services provided through a home visiting
program. Requires coverage to include at least one visit during a newborn's first three
months of life, with opportunity for the family to choose follow-up visits, and at least one
follow-up visit no later than three months after the last visit. Authorizes a plan to limit the
total number of visits to a maximum of five visits from birth to age three.
Proposed law authorizes a plan to apply annual deductibles, coinsurance, and copayment
provisions consistent with those established under the plan. Further authorizes a plan to
provide a coverage limit of $1,500 per pregnancy or childbirth.
Proposed law prohibits coverage requirements from precluding a home visiting program
from operating in the state of La. Authorizes a home visiting program to practice and forego
eligible reimbursement via a plan. Further authorizes a program to provide services within
the state to the client or population desiring its services if the program aligns with an
evidence-based home visiting model.
Proposed law authorizes a health insurance issuer or plan to establish criteria for home
visiting services if the criteria allow at least one provider to be covered by the plan. Further
provides that proposed law does not exclude coverage for evidence-based home visiting
programs beginning earlier during pregnancy or extending services beyond age three.
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HB NO. 382
Proposed law authorizes a health insurance issuer or plan to determine its process for
reimbursement of expenses by use of certain methods or arrangements described in proposed
law.
Proposed law defines "evidence-based home visiting program" and "health coverage plan".
Proposed law applies to any new policy, contract, program, or plan issued on and after Jan.
1, 2027. Requires any policy, contract, or plan in effect prior to Jan. 1, 2027, to convert to
conform to proposed law on or before the renewal date, but no later than Jan. 1, 2028.
(Adds R.S. 22:1059.6)
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