Creates the crime of fraudulent patient referrals or "body brokering" (OR SEE FISC NOTE GF EX)

House Bill 676 creates a new crime codified at Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:70.5.1 that prohibits fraudulent patient referrals, commonly known as "body brokering." The statute makes it unlawful for any person to knowingly or intentionally solicit, offer, pay, or receive any fee, payment, rebate, commission, bribe, or kickback in connection with referring patients to residential substance abuse facilities, mental health facilities, or facilities licensed for substance use disorder treatment. The law also prohibits assisting, conspiring with, urging, or marketing to others to engage in such prohibited conduct. The statute operates through a broad definitional framework that covers natural persons, juridical entities, health care providers, health care facilities, non-profit organizations, clinical laboratories, and recovery residences, capturing both direct and indirect exchanges whether made overtly or covertly and whether made in cash or in kind.

The legislation affects numerous parties involved in the substance abuse and mental health treatment sectors throughout Louisiana. Residential substance abuse facilities, mental health treatment providers, health care providers who refer patients, and any individuals or entities involved in directing patients to treatment programs face criminal liability for engaging in or facilitating kickback schemes. Providers and facilities that maintain compliant payment structures will not be affected, as the statute includes an exception for fees and commissions that do not vary based on the number of patients referred, the duration or nature of treatment services, or the amount of insurance benefits paid. Those convicted face up to five years imprisonment, fines up to fifty thousand dollars, suspension or revocation of professional licenses, additional civil fines up to twenty-five thousand dollars, and mandatory restitution to victims who suffer financial losses from the offense.

The statute operates within Louisiana's broader criminal law framework governing misappropriation without violence and integrates with existing regulatory structures governing health care providers and facilities. The bill cross-references R.S. 37:1745(C), which addresses professional license discipline by appropriate licensing boards, and R.S. 40:2199, which grants the Louisiana Department of Health authority to assess civil fines against health care entities. The restitution requirement operates under Code of Criminal Procedure Article 883.2, which establishes the procedures and standards for ordering defendants to compensate victims of crime. The creation of this offense reflects Louisiana's adoption of federal anti-kickback principles applicable to health care referrals and serves to protect the integrity of patient placement decisions in substance use disorder and mental health treatment by eliminating financial incentives that could compromise clinical judgment.