§ 15:831 — Medical care of inmates; testing

§831. Medical care of inmates; testing
A. The secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, using the
recommendations of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections Medical Advisory
Council, shall establish and shall prescribe standards for health, medical, and dental services
for each institution, including preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic measures on both an
outpatient and a hospital basis, for all types of patients. An inmate may be taken to a medical
facility outside the institution when deemed necessary by the director. However, in situations
which are not life-threatening, the medical facility selected to treat the inmate shall be a part
of the state's charity hospital system. In emergency situations where treatment by a state
charity hospital is not available or feasible, the inmate may receive emergency treatment at
the nearest private medical facility. As soon as practicable, the inmate should be transferred
to a facility operated by the state's charity hospital system. Notwithstanding any law to the
contrary, all payments to private hospitals or health care providers shall be governed by R.S.
15:824(B)(1)(c). No monies appropriated to the department from the state general fund or
from dedicated funds shall be used for medical costs associated with organ transplants for
inmates or for the purposes of providing cosmetic medical treatment of inmates, unless the
condition necessitating such treatment or organ transplant arises or results from an accident
or situation which was the fault of the department or resulted from an action or lack of action
on the part of the department. However, nothing in this Section shall prohibit an inmate from
donating his vital organs for transplant purposes.
B.(1) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the secretary shall promulgate
rules and regulations regarding reimbursement by a state inmate for medical expenses
incurred by the department or sheriff for the inmate's treatment, including a requirement that
the inmate file a claim with his private medical or health care insurer or any public medical
assistance program, under which he is covered and from which the inmate may make a claim
for payment or reimbursement of the cost of any such medical treatment.
(2) In addition, the secretary shall adopt rules requiring that copayments be made by
inmates upon receiving medical or dental treatment, which may include a sliding scale based
on the inmates' ability to pay. These rules and regulations shall include but not be limited
to guidelines for payments for inmate visits to doctors, hospitals, psychiatrists, and dentists,
and for receipt of prescription or nonprescription drugs. The secretary shall also establish
written guidelines for collection of copayments from an inmate's drawing account or savings
account pursuant to R.S. 15:874. The provisions of this Paragraph shall apply to medical or
dental treatment received at a public hospital operated by the Louisiana State University
Health Sciences Center.
C. The secretary may order that an inmate be tested for a contagious disease if the
inmate has been in an altercation and there is reason to believe that an exchange of bodily
fluids between the inmate and another person has taken place. In addition, the secretary may
authorize the testing of a staff member for contagious diseases at state expense when such
testing is in the best interest of the department, including consideration of its staff and inmate
populations.
D. For purposes of this Section "inmate" shall mean an individual who has been
committed to the department for confinement after final sentence. For purposes of the
prohibition against the use of state general or dedicated funds for organ transplants, "inmate"
shall mean an individual who has been committed to the department for confinement for the
crime of first or second degree murder, or the crime of aggravated or first degree rape and
has exhausted all state and federal appellate and post conviction and relief remedies.

Legislative History

Added by Acts 1968, No. 192, §1. Acts 1989, No. 430, §1; Acts 1990, No. 75, §1; Acts 1993, No. 686, §1; Acts 1993, No. 875, §1; Acts 1997, No. 626, §1; Acts 1999, No. 1057, §1; Acts 2003, No. 1161, §1; Acts 2008, No. 730, §1; Acts 2015, No. 184, §2; Acts 2022, No. 646, §1.