Senate committee advances bill requiring private insurers to cover voluntary home visits for newborns

House Bill 382, authored in the House by Representative Baham, was reported favorably by the Senate Insurance Committee on May 21 after brief testimony and an adopted technical amendment.

Representative Baham told the committee the bill "requires insurance coverage of home visiting services for newborns and young children," and framed the change as part of efforts to lower Louisiana's maternal and infant mortality rates. "One of the big issues we have in Louisiana ... is we have a very high maternal mortality rate," Baham said, adding that the program would allow nurses or social workers to visit new mothers to perform health checks.

Susan East Nelson of the Louisiana Partnership for Children and Families described the state’s voluntary home visiting system and said private‑insurance coverage would help build a market for home visiting programs. "This is a relatively low cost intervention that we can do early on with moms and babies that has tremendous return on the investment on the back end," she said. Nelson noted about 60 percent of births in Louisiana are covered by Medicaid and that private coverage would expand access for families with private insurance.

The committee adopted a technical amendment (amendment set 2032) without opposition. Senator DuPlessis indicated she would "move favorable at the proper time," and Senator Plessis moved to report the bill with amendments. With no opposition voiced, the committee "reported favorably" on House Bill 382.

Discussion vs. action: Committee members asked clarifying questions during the presentation but took no additional policy amendments beyond the technical change. The formal actions were adoption of the technical amendment and a committee vote to report the bill favorably to the full Senate.

Next steps: The bill proceeds from the committee to the Senate for further consideration.