Louisiana passes vent bill
By HME News Staff
Updated 11:17 AM CDT, Thu June 13, 2024
BATON ROUGE, La. – Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry has signed HB 839, legislation that curbs the substitution of step therapy or fail-first protocols for prescribed ventilators when clinical evidence demonstrates that these protocols will be less effective or cause an adverse reaction to the patient. The measure was strongly supported in the Louisiana legislature, with just a single vote against it on the House (97-1) and unanimous approval in the Senate (35-0), according to a bulletin from AAHomecare. “The fail-first approach to treating individuals with severe respiratory challenges deserves a failing grade for the stress this practice causes for patients, families, and caregivers,” said David Chandler, AAHomecare’s senior director of payer relations. “Louisiana HME leaders and respiratory stakeholders have done a great job in explaining the importance of relying on clinical expertise when NIV is prescribed. We hope this success inspires other states to take action to limit the use of fail first and step therapy in acute respiratory care.” The measure applies to treatment of patients across the full spectrum of local health coverage plans in Louisiana and goes into effect on Aug. 1.
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