§2113.4. Duty to provide services; penalty

A. Any general hospital licensed under this Part, which is owned or operated, or both, by a hospital service district, which benefits from being financed by the sale of bonds that are exempt from taxation as provided by Louisiana law, or which receives any other type of financial assistance from the state of Louisiana and which offers emergency room services to the public and is actually offering such services at the time, shall make its emergency services available to all persons residing in the territorial area of the hospital regardless of whether the person is covered by private, federal Medicare or Medicaid, or other insurance. Each person shall receive these services free from discrimination based on race, religion, or national ancestry and from arbitrary, capricious, or unreasonable discrimination based on age, sex, or physical condition and economic status. However, in no event shall emergency treatment be denied to anyone on account of inability to pay. Any such hospital found to be in violation of this Section shall not receive any client referrals from the Louisiana Department of Health.

B. For purposes of this Section, "emergency" means a physical condition which places the person in imminent danger of death or permanent disability, or in cases of rape; however, the person may be directed to another hospital which has been designated by the coroner of the parish as a facility which specializes in care and treatment of rape victims. "Emergency services" means those services which are available in the emergency room and surgical units in order to sustain the persons' life and prevent disablement until the person is in condition to be able to travel to another appropriate facility without undue risk of serious harm to the person. Those general hospitals which do not have emergency room physician services available at the time of the emergency shall not be in violation of this Section, if after a good faith reasonable effort a physician is unavailable to provide those medical services, which according to law, only physicians are authorized to perform.

C.(1) In all cases in which a child under fourteen has been raped or physically or sexually abused, the coroner of the parish may direct the person to a facility which has been designated by said coroner as a facility which specializes in the care and treatment of such victims.

(2) The coroner, in conjunction with the designated facility and the district attorney and local law enforcement authority, may provide for and equip a room for videotaping a child pursuant to R.S. 15:440.1 through 440.6.

Added by Acts 1980, No. 630, §1. Amended by Acts 1981, No. 446, §1; Acts 1984, No. 563, §1.