The Arthritis Foundation is pleased to announce that Gov. John Bel Edwards has signed HB 263 into law as Act 181. This law strengthens protections for Louisianans who are living with arthritis and cements Louisiana as having one of the strongest step therapy laws in the country.
Act 181 was prioritized and passed during the COVID-19 pandemic and will improve the state’s existingstep therapy law.步进疗法也被称为“先失败”，它迫使患者在使用医生最初开出的药物之前，先尝试保险公司选择的药物，然后再失败。即使你已经在服用药物并且效果良好，这种情况也可能发生。
Our Advocates’ storiespowered this success and will help Louisianans like the Floyd family— who have endured burdensome step therapy requirements for the treatment of their daughter, Emily, who was diagnosed with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis at the age of 9.
“I want to thank State Rep. Mike Huval for the introduction of HB 263 to update Louisiania’s step therapy law. My hope is renewed for my daughter, who suffers from a form of juvenile arthritis, so that she will not have to unnecessarily continue to try and fail on multiple drugs not prescribed by her doctors, which would end up causing her greater joint damage. I know this bill will make a difference for so many families like ours.”
Our Advocates were persistent and informed state legislators about the importance of this measure, which received a unanimous vote in the Senate and a near-unanimous vote in the House. Now that Act 181 has been signed, Louisianans will have timely access to the medications they need, when they need them.
If you are a Louisiana resident,send a letter thanking Gov. Edwardsfor his support.
If you have experienced step therapy, or “fail first,” we want to hear your story.Share your experience with our Story Bank tool.