Committee approves caregiver‑registry bill after LDH talks; sponsors to refine licensing approach
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Summary
Sponsors of HB 541 presented language to create licensure and minimum standards for caregiver registries that match the self‑directed care model; LDH said an exception within existing home‑and‑community‑based licensing may be preferable and parties agreed to keep working.
BATON ROUGE — The House Health and Welfare Committee on May 8 advanced HB 541, a bill addressing caregiver registries that connect families with private‑pay or self‑directed home caregivers.
Representatives and proponents said caregiver registries have operated in Louisiana for decades and give families the ability to recruit, hire and direct private caregivers without an agency supervising day‑to‑day work. “Caregiver registries have been operating in the state of Louisiana for over 65 years,” said Joni Freeman, owner of a registry that has operated for 55 years. She told the committee registries do not supervise, train or employ caregivers but act as an access point for families seeking private pay help.
Sponsors said LDH had begun treating some registries as home‑health providers and asking them to seek licensure, which in turn would change their business model and the services they offer. The bill in its initial form would create a licensing category and set standards and fees; registry representatives said those changes would put small “mom and pop” registries at risk.
Kim Humboldt, general counsel for the Louisiana Department of Health, told the committee the department had been engaged with sponsors and providers and recommended an exception be created within the existing Home and Community‑Based provider license rather than creating a new licensed provider type. Humboldt said that would avoid duplicate regulation and could eliminate fees for registries that only provide matching services.
Committee members accepted the principle of a registry statute with guardrails and directed sponsors to continue work with LDH to finalize language and fiscal impacts. HB 541 was reported favorably with the understanding sponsors and LDH would refine whether an exemption or new license is the appropriate vehicle and finalize the fiscal note.
Committee members said they wanted to preserve families’ self‑directed care options while ensuring any new statutory language did not unintentionally require inspections or burdensome fees for small registries.
