Louisiana Acts of the Regular Legislative Session (2018)
HB 891, Act 498
AN ACT To amend and reenact R.S. 36:21(B) and R.S. 40:1061.6(A)(2) and 2175.4(B), relative to a prohibition on public funding for entities that perform abortions; to provide for applicability of and exceptions to the prohibition; to provide relative to the validity of outpatient abortion facility licenses; to provide for legislative findings; to provide for the redesignation of certain statutes; and to provide for related matters.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
§21. Public funding for abortion providers; prohibition
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B.(1) No institution, board, commission, department, agency, official, or employee of the state, or of any local political subdivision thereof, shall contract with, award any grant to, or otherwise bestow any funding upon, an entity or organization that performs abortions, or that contracts with an entity or organization that performs abortions, in this state. The prohibition provided in this Section shall apply to state funds, federal funds, and any other funds that may be used for purposes of contracting for services, providing reimbursements, or grant issuance. The Louisiana Department of Health shall not enter into any provider agreement for medical assistance program funding, as defined in R.S. 46:437.3, with any healthcare provider, entity, or organization that does any of the following:
(a) Performs abortions in this state.
(b) Provides its own facilities where reimbursable medical assistance program services are performed for the use of another healthcare provider, entity, or organization for the purpose of performing abortions in this state.
(c) Hires or retains another healthcare provider, entity, or organization for the purpose of performing abortions in this state.
(d) Provides reimbursable medical assistance program services in the same physical facility as a licensed outpatient abortion facility.
(2)(a) The prohibition provided in this Section shall apply to state funds, federal funds, and any other public funds administered by the Louisiana Department of Health through a medical assistance program provider agreement. In the instance that a state or federal funding grant is denied to a healthcare provider, entity, or organization under this Section, such grant shall be redirected to qualified providers in the same geographical region as the...
