Louisiana creates mandatory statewide workers' comp medical bill database, effective August 1
Act 766 requires all payors to submit quarterly medical and pharmacy claims data to the Office of Workers' Compensation starting in 2027, laying the groundwork for a future Louisiana-specific fee schedule.
By the Work Comp Brief automated newsroomGrounded in legis.la.gov
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Louisiana has enacted a structural overhaul of its workers' compensation medical billing system. Senate Bill 408, sponsored by Sen. Brach Myers (R-Lafayette) and enacted as Act 766 of the 2026 Regular Session, creates a mandatory statewide medical claims database administered by the Office of Workers' Compensation Administration (OWCA) and takes effect August 1, 2026, according to the enrolled bill.
The House passed the final conference committee report 83 to 6; the Senate adopted it unanimously before sending the measure to the governor.
The centerpiece of Act 766 is the "Louisiana All Workers' Compensation Medical Bill Database." Under the law, all workers' compensation payors—carriers, self-insured employers, and third-party administrators—must submit medical and pharmacy claims data to the OWCA for every Louisiana workers' compensation claim. Required data elements include date of injury, employer industry classification, provider specialty and identifier, procedure and diagnosis codes (CPT, HCPCS, ICD, and NDC as applicable), billed charge, allowed amount, paid amount, service dates, utilization review decisions, and claim status indicators.
Payors must submit that data on a quarterly basis. The reporting obligation begins January 1, 2027, giving the industry approximately 17 months from the law's effective date to build compliant data pipelines. A companion electronic billing mandate follows on July 1, 2027, requiring that all medical bills be submitted electronically.
The legislature set a clear policy horizon tied to the data collection: before the 2029 Regular Session opens, the OWCA must deliver a comprehensive report to lawmakers drawing on the collected database. That report must cover charges and allowed amounts, payment levels, utilization trends, access-to-care metrics, outlier billing patterns, and how Louisiana reimbursement compares to Medicare and other payment systems. The analysis is expressly intended to support development of a Louisiana-specific workers' compensation medical fee schedule—a tool the state has historically lacked.
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