Committee adopts clarification for nonprofit hospice houses to preserve services

Senate Bill 45, introduced to clarify the status of nonprofit or gratuitous hospice houses, was amended and reported favorably by the Senate Health and Welfare Committee on March 11.

Sponsor Senator Wheat described hospice houses in Hammond and Slidell that provide home‑like, uncompensated end‑of‑life care for patients who lack other options. Witnesses from the Richard Murphy Hospice House in Hammond and the hospice house in Slidell described services that include 24‑hour caregiving in a residential setting, family visitation, and no reliance on Medicare or Medicaid payments.

Senator Wheat offered amendment 6-88 to clarify that bed-count thresholds apply per physical location rather than aggregating beds across separate houses operated by the same nonprofit; the committee adopted the amendment by voice consent. The committee then reported SB 45 as amended.