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Read. Follow. Verify.Louisiana expands forensic medical exam and billing protections to domestic violence and strangulation survivors
Last action · May 26, 2026: Scheduled for floor debate on 06/01/2026.Sponsors: Aimee Adatto Freeman and 1 other
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What This Bill Proposed
House Bill 998 expands protections, hospital procedures, and reimbursements to survivors of domestic violence, including strangulation. The bill prohibits healthcare providers from directly billing survivors for forensic examinations, sets specific reimbursement rates, and mandates a statewide domestic violence forensic protocol within six months of the effective date.
Domestic violence survivors presenting for medical treatment gain access to no-cost forensic examinations, privileged advocates, and standardized care protocols previously reserved primarily for sexual assault survivors.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Survivors of domestic violence and strangulation
Receive mandatory no-cost forensic medical examinations, private spaces, advocate access, and protection from direct medical billing.
Licensed hospitals and healthcare providers
Must adhere to updated examination and reporting procedures, provide informational pamphlets, and submit reimbursement claims directly to the Crime Victims Reparations Board.
Crime Victims Reparations Board
Must establish a statewide domestic violence forensic protocol and process direct reimbursement claims for healthcare providers and facilities.
Key Facts
- House Bill 998 broadens the definition of 'forensic medical examination' to include victims of domestic violence, including strangulation.
- Hospitals and healthcare providers are strictly prohibited from directly billing survivors of domestic violence or sexual assault for forensic medical examinations.
- The Crime Victims Reparations Board must reimburse healthcare providers $600 for performing a forensic medical exam and $1000 to the healthcare facility where the exam was conducted.
- The Crime Victims Reparations Fund receives monies from unclaimed prize money collections to pay exclusively for healthcare services and forensic medical examinations for victims.
Show all 8 facts
- Competent adult survivors are entitled to receive a reproduction of any written documentation resulting from their forensic medical exam no later than 14 days after request or completion.
- The Crime Victims Reparations Board must establish a statewide domestic violence forensic protocol within six months of the Act's effective date.
- The Louisiana Department of Justice, office of the attorney general, must collaborate with state agencies and stakeholders to develop a standardized statewide forensic medical examination within six months.
- The Louisiana Department of Health must provide hospitals with an informational pamphlet explaining the billing process to distribute to survivors.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is covered under the new forensic medical examination rules?
Can hospitals send a bill directly to a domestic violence survivor for a forensic exam?
How much do healthcare providers and facilities receive as reimbursement for conducting an exam?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · passed the House.
Procedural history
40 actions- May 26, 2026HouseCalled from the calendar.
- May 26, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, returned to the calendar.
- May 26, 2026HouseNotice given.
- May 26, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 06/01/2026.
- May 20, 2026HouseCalled from the calendar.
- May 20, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, returned to the calendar.
Show 34 earlier actions
- May 20, 2026HouseNotice given.
- May 20, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 05/26/2026.
- May 19, 2026HouseCalled from the calendar.
- May 19, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, returned to the calendar.
- May 19, 2026HouseNotice given.
- May 19, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 05/20/2026.
- May 18, 2026HouseCalled from the calendar.
- May 18, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, returned to the calendar.
- May 18, 2026HouseNotice given.
- May 18, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 05/19/2026.
- May 13, 2026HouseCalled from the calendar.
- May 13, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, returned to the calendar.
- May 13, 2026HouseNotice given.
- May 13, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 05/18/2026.
- May 12, 2026HouseCalled from the calendar.
- May 12, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, returned to the calendar.
- May 12, 2026HouseNotice given.
- May 12, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 05/13/2026.
- May 11, 2026HouseCalled from the calendar.
- May 11, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, returned to the calendar.
- May 11, 2026HouseNotice given.
- May 11, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 05/12/2026.
- May 7, 2026HouseCalled from the calendar.
- May 7, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, returned to the calendar.
- May 7, 2026HouseNotice given.
- May 7, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 05/11/2026.
- May 5, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, returned to the calendar.
- May 5, 2026HouseNotice given.
- May 5, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 05/07/2026.
- Apr 29, 2026HouseFloorRead by title, amended, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
- Apr 29, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 05/05/2026.
- Apr 28, 2026HouseReported with amendments (10-0).
- Mar 24, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice.
- Mar 23, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title. Lies over under the rules.
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Expansion of Forensic Exam Protections
The legislation broadens statutory frameworks previously dedicated to sexual assault victims to explicitly include domestic violence and strangulation survivors.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legis.la.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy10Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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