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Progress with Caution: Fee Schedule Overhaul Clears Senate Labor

 

From the moment the Senate Labor Committee gaveled in Wednesday, SB 408 by Sen. Brach Myers (R-Lafayette) commanded the room. In about 30 minutes, the Committee advanced an amended version of the bill with a strong show of support, backed by dozens of green cards from stakeholders spanning the workers’ compensation landscape.

Behind the hearing was months of intensive engagement, with LABI playing a central role in shaping the conversation. Vice President of Government Relations Patrick Robinson was deeply involved throughout negotiations, bringing decades of workers’ compensation expertise to the table and serving as a steady voice for Louisiana’s job creators at a time of historic economic momentum. Robinson ultimately testified in support of moving SB 408 to the Senate floor. His testimony highlighted support for the progress made, but also addresses the need for continued discussion and cooperation as some concerns remain.

Before turning to the substance of the bill, Sen. Myers emphasized the broad coalition that helped bring the proposal forward, including the Workers’ Compensation Task Force, Louisiana Works, injured worker advocates, medical providers, employers, carriers, self-insured entities and administrators. For years, crafting a modern fee schedule has been a persistent boondoggle at the Capitol. While stakeholders—including LABI—still have concerns, this legislation represents a long-awaited and meaningful step toward modernizing Louisiana’s workers’ compensation system.

Sen. Myers framed SB 408 as an overdue transformation, built around four key objectives: improving recovery outcomes and return-to-work timelines for injured employees; creating a more predictable and transparent medical fee schedule to reduce disputes and delays in care; addressing outliers and bad actors who drive system abuse; and modernizing operations through electronic billing, reporting and stronger data infrastructure.

“This is not meant to be a blank check for one side or the other,” Sen. Myers told the Committee.

An important clarification also emerged during the hearing: before any new fee schedule could take effect, Louisiana Works would be required to develop a Louisiana-specific framework and complete a formal rulemaking process before returning to both House and Senate Labor Committees for ultimate approval. In the meantime, key modernization provisions—such as database development, electronic systems and reporting improvements—would move forward.

In his testimony, which you can watch below, Robinson thanked Sen. Myers for the months of work that brought the bill to this point, while reinforcing LABI’s perspective: the progress is real—and overdue—but caution is still warranted.

He noted that while adjustments to physician reimbursement may be justified after years of stagnation, the scale of proposed increases must be carefully considered in a state that already faces among the highest workers’ compensation costs in the country. Moving forward, LABI remains focused on ensuring the final product strikes the right balance—advancing meaningful reform without unintentionally driving higher costs for employers.

As SB 408 heads to the Senate Floor, LABI continues to engage with stakeholders and lawmakers to reach a workable, responsible compromise—one that delivers on the promise of reform while protecting the long-term affordability and stability of Louisiana’s workers’ compensation system, and ultimately gets the system back to its true purpose: ensuring injured workers receive the care they need and return to work as quickly as possible.