HEALTH CARE/FACILITIES: Requests the Louisiana Department of Health to study and report on gaps in acute healthcare access for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities
House Concurrent Resolution 67 requests the Louisiana Department of Health to conduct a comprehensive study of gaps in acute care access for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The study is to be known as the “Derek’s Promise Study” and is intended to examine how Louisiana’s Medicaid, waiver, hospital, and facility systems handle acute medical episodes for people with IDD, especially when they need short-term, higher-intensity care rather than long-term supports.
The resolution also creates the IDD Acute Care and Crisis Response Task Force to work with LDH on identifying barriers and developing recommendations for a more coordinated system of care. The task force is directed to look at hospital utilization, discharge delays, crisis stabilization, workforce shortages, reimbursement issues, rural access, telehealth, mobile support teams, and possible hospital-at-home or similar models. It must report findings and any proposed legislation to the Legislature by January 15, 2027, while LDH must submit its own report by February 1, 2027.
HCR 67 does not directly change state law or create new regulatory requirements, but it does formally direct LDH to study existing gaps and produce recommendations that could lead to future legislation, Medicaid policy changes, or administrative reforms. It establishes a temporary task force, requires agency cooperation, and sets reporting deadlines, thereby creating an official legislative process for evaluating acute-care access for people with IDD and for considering changes to Medicaid reimbursement, waiver flexibility, and care coordination systems.
The bill appears to have broad bipartisan support and little visible opposition. It passed the House unanimously, 92-0, suggesting strong agreement that the state should examine shortcomings in acute care for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and identify practical solutions. The resolution’s findings frame the issue as a patient-care and system-capacity concern rather than a partisan policy dispute.
No formal opposition is reflected in the available vote or transcript record, but the resolution identifies several underlying problem areas that are likely to be the focus of any future debate: Medicaid service caps, prior authorization delays, reimbursement levels, workforce shortages, and the feasibility of expanding acute care outside hospitals. Stakeholders named in the resolution include LDH, Medicaid officials, hospitals, community-based providers, behavioral health organizations, disability advocates, family caregivers, and rural healthcare systems, indicating that any recommendations may need to balance provider capacity, funding, and access concerns across multiple settings.