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Read. Follow. Verify.Louisiana requires regional rate comparisons for workers' compensation medical fees by 2027
Last action · April 8, 2026: Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations.Sponsor: Michael Echols
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What This Bill Proposed
Louisiana requires the assistant secretary of the office of workers' compensation administration to base medical fee s on the mean of usual charges compared with surrounding states, with the initial schedule taking effect on January 1, 2027. The measure also mandates annual schedule adjustments supported by data surveys, directs the office to examine administrative relief and paperwork reductions for healthcare providers, and institutes quarterly reporting to legislative committees.
Changes how medical reimbursement rates are calculated for workplace injury claims by tying them to regional averages, impacting healthcare providers, employers, and injured workers across the state.
- Workers' compensation laws in Louisiana regulate medical fee reimbursements for workplace injuries through schedules established by the office of workers' compensation administration. context
- House Bill 357 was introduced during the 2026 Regular Session and advanced from the House to the Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations. context
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.
healthcare providers
injured workers
House and Senate committees on labor and industrial relations
These legislative committees gain formal oversight authority and receive mandatory quarterly reports on the rate study and process.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who oversees the data collection process for the reimbursement schedule?
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · passed the House · in Senate committee.
Procedural history
10 actions- Apr 8, 2026SenateCommitteeRead second time by title and referred to the Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations.
- Apr 7, 2026SenateReceived in the Senate. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
- Apr 1, 2026HouseFloorRead third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 82, nays 13. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
- Mar 31, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 04/01/2026.
- Mar 30, 2026HouseFloorRead by title, amended, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
- Mar 26, 2026HouseReported with amendments (8-4).
Show 4 earlier actions
- Mar 9, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations.
- Feb 27, 2026HouseFirst appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/27/2026.
- Feb 24, 2026HousePrefiled.
- Feb 24, 2026HouseCommitteeUnder the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations.
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.
Shift from Local Mean to Regional Comparison
The legislation changes the calculation methodology for workers' compensation medical fees from a standard based solely on local mean charges to one requiring reasonableness and similar characteristics compared to surrounding states.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legis.la.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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