Strong Ventilator Coverage Provisions Advance in Louisiana

BATON ROUGE, La. (May 21, 2021)—In a victory for home ventilator providers, the Louisiana House of Representative passed HB 594 on Wednesday, May 19, 2021. The legislation prevents insurers, MCOs and other payers from setting reimbursement caps for ventilators. The American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare) joined Louisiana home medical equipment (HME) stakeholders to support the legislation and helped convince key legislators to remove proposed amendments that could have capped costs for non-invasive ventilators and restricted HME suppliers’ ability to provide important service and maintenance for these specialized products. The bill passed by a 84-14 margin.
 
AAHomecare Senior Director of Payer Relations David Chandler testified in person before the House Insurance Committee to advocate for these measures on May 12. You can watch a video of the testimony here.

“This is a very positive development for Louisiana respiratory providers and patients who depend on what are, in many cases, life-support systems,” said Tom Ryan, AAHomecare president and CEO. “HME leaders in Louisiana have done a terrific job moving this bill forward in a challenging legislative environment. We’re gratified that we could help support these efforts.”
 
HB 594 now moves to the Louisiana Senate, where respiratory stakeholders, patient groups, and AAHomecare will continue to advocate for passage and final approval. Legislative text for the bill can be found here.