RS 1170.1 - Legislative findings; declaration
A. The legislature hereby finds all of the following:
(1) A developmental, intellectual, or physical disability does not diminish a person's right to health care.
(2) The provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities, yet many individuals with disabilities experience discrimination in accessing critical healthcare services.
(3) In some cases, persons with developmental, intellectual, or physical disabilities have been denied life-saving organ transplants based on beliefs or assumptions by healthcare providers that those persons are incapable of complying with post-transplant medical requirements, or that they lack adequate support systems to ensure compliance with those medical requirements.
(4) Although organ transplant centers must consider medical and psychosocial criteria when determining whether a patient is suitable to receive an organ transplant, transplant centers that participate in Medicare, Medicaid, and other federally funded programs are required to use patient selection criteria that result in a fair and nondiscriminatory distribution of organs.
B. The legislature hereby declares that Louisiana residents in need of organ transplants shall be entitled to an assurance that they will not encounter discrimination on the basis of a disability.
Acts 2019, No. 57, §3, eff. May 30, 2019.