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Read. Follow. Verify.Louisiana sets strict deadlines for Medicaid managed care decisions and bans claim denials when deadlines are missed
Last action · May 29, 2026: Effective date: 08/01/2026.Sponsor: Kellee Dickerson
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What This Bill Does
Louisiana law now requires Medicaid managed care organizations to meet strict timelines ranging from 24 hours to 30 days for various health service authorization decisions. If an organization misses these deadlines, it is legally prohibited from denying the provider's claim due to a lack of prior authorization. The legislation also establishes rules for notifying providers of denials, requesting missing clinical documentation, and preventing the retroactive retraction of service approvals.
Medicaid enrollees and healthcare providers will experience standardized waiting times for medical procedure approvals, and providers gain financial protection when health plans fail to meet decision deadlines.
- Managed care organizations in Medicaid programs review healthcare service requests for medical necessity before or after services are rendered. context
- Prior authorization and utilization management practices are subject to state regulation to prevent excessive delays in patient care. context
Who It Affects
Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
managed care organization
Managed care organizations must comply with strict statutory review timelines and face restrictions on claim denials and retroactive retractions.
healthcare provider
Healthcare providers receive defined response time frames for prior authorizations and protection against claim denials when insurers miss deadlines.
enrollee
Medicaid enrollees benefit from regulated, mandatory time frames for standard, inpatient, and emergency healthcare service determinations.
Key Facts
- Managed care organizations must make standard service authorization determinations within seven calendar days of obtaining appropriate clinical documentation.
- Inpatient hospital service authorizations must be completed within two calendar days of obtaining appropriate documentation.
- Concurrent review determinations must be made within one calendar day of obtaining appropriate documentation.
- Behavioral health crisis service determinations requiring prior authorization must be made within one calendar day after obtaining appropriate clinical documentation.
Show all 9 facts
- Expedited authorizations for urgent health situations must be made no later than seventy-two hours after receipt of the request.
- Retrospective review determinations must be made within thirty calendar days of obtaining the results of appropriate clinical documentation.
- If a managed care organization fails to make a determination within the mandated time frames, it is prohibited from denying the claim based on a lack of prior authorization.
- Managed care organizations cannot retract an authorization after services are provided or reduce payment unless the approval was based on a material omission or misrepresentation.
- If a utilization review request lacks necessary information, the health insurance issuer has one calendar day to inform the provider and must allow at least two business days to supply the information.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if a managed care organization misses the deadline to review a medical service request?
How quickly must an expedited authorization be handled in urgent health situations?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Current status: Signed into law.
Procedural history
24 actions- May 29, 2026HouseEnrolledSigned by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 572.
- May 29, 2026HouseEffective date: 08/01/2026.
- May 26, 2026HouseSent to the Governor for executive approval.
- May 25, 2026HouseReceived from the Senate without amendments.
- May 25, 2026HouseEnrolledEnrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.
- May 25, 2026SenateEnrolledSigned by the President of the Senate.
Show 18 earlier actions
- May 21, 2026SenateFloorRules suspended. Read by title, passed by a vote of 35 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
- May 18, 2026SenateFloorReported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.
- May 14, 2026SenateIntroducedRead by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
- May 13, 2026SenateCommitteeReported favorably.
- Apr 20, 2026SenateCommitteeRead second time by title and referred to the Committee on Health and Welfare.
- Apr 15, 2026SenateReceived in the Senate. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
- Apr 14, 2026HouseCalled from the calendar.
- Apr 14, 2026HouseFloorRead third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 99, nays 0. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
- Apr 13, 2026HouseNotice given.
- Apr 13, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 04/14/2026.
- Apr 9, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, returned to the calendar.
- Apr 8, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 04/09/2026.
- Apr 7, 2026HouseFloorRead by title, amended, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
- Apr 1, 2026HouseReported with amendments (11-0).
- Mar 9, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Health and Welfare.
- Feb 27, 2026HousePrefiled.
- Feb 27, 2026HouseCommitteeUnder the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Health and Welfare.
- Feb 27, 2026HouseFirst appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/27/2026.
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.
Strict Deadlines Enforced via Claim Prohibition
The law shifts administrative risk to managed care organizations by banning claim denials due to lack of prior authorization whenever review deadlines are missed.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legis.la.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy20Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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