HB 1089

HLS 26RS-50  REENGROSSED
 2026 Regular Session
 HOUSE BILL NO. 1089
 BY REPRESENTATIVES BAMBURG, BERAULT, BOYER, CARLSON, CARVER,
  CHENEVERT, DICKERSON, DOMANGUE, EGAN, HEBERT, CHANCE
  HENRY, AND WYBLE
 CIVIL/DAMAGES: Creates CARE Accounts for certain damages arising from delictual
  actions
1AN ACT
2 To enact Chapter 25 of Title 6 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, to be comprised
3of R.S. 6:1431 through 1434, relative to CARE Accounts; to provide for the
4establishment of CARE Accounts; to define certain terms; to provide for qualifying
5medical expenses; to provide for the deposit of certain funds; to provide for the
6disbursement of certain funds; to provide for applicability; and to provide for related
7matters.
8 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
9Section 1. Chapter 25 of Title 6 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950,
10 comprised of R.S. 6:1431 through 1434, is hereby enacted to read as follows:
11CHAPTER 25. CARE ACCOUNTS
12§1431. Short title
13This Chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "CARE Account Act".
14§1432. Definitions
15For the purpose of this Chapter, the following definitions apply:
16(1)   "CARE Account" or "Compensation Allocated for Reimbursable
17Expenses Account" means a money market account for which the court has ordered
18the deposit of funds from a special damages award allocated for the purpose of future
19medical payments in a delictual action, except as provided for in R.S. 6:1434.
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1(2) "Payor" means an insurer obligated by its policy to make payment on a
2claim for which the court has ordered such payment to be deposited into a CARE
3Account.
4(3) "Qualifying medical expenses" mean amounts paid for medical care, as
5defined in 26 U.S.C. 213, that are related to the injury or condition that is the subject
6of the judgment.
7§1433. Account deposits; disbursements; establishment and maintenance
8A. In any delictual action, except as provided for in R.S. 6:1434, for which
9the court awards special damages for future medical expenses, the court shall order
10that the portion of the award allocated for future medical expenses be placed into a
11CARE Account unless otherwise agreed to by the parties and approved by the court.
12B. A CARE Account shall be established in the name of and owned by the
13payor for the use and benefit of the plaintiff for the term of the plaintiff's life.
14C. A CARE Account shall be established and maintained at a financial
15institution as a money market deposit account, for which the financial institution
16shall issue a transaction card for the plaintiff to execute transactions authorized
17pursuant to this Chapter.
18D.(1) Funds deposited in a CARE Account shall only be used for qualifying
19medical expenses. However, the financial institution in which the CARE Account
20is established has no duty to ensure transactions in the account are made for
21qualifying medical expenses nor is the financial institution subject to liability for
22transactions being effectuated that are not qualifying medical expenses.
23(2) The payor may contract with a third-party administrator for services
24including but not limited to monitoring and reconciling transactions involving a
25CARE Account; however, the third-party administrator is not subject to liability if
26the plaintiff executes a transaction that is not a qualifying medical expense.
27E. Upon the judgment becoming final and the payor receiving an affidavit
28from the plaintiff attesting to his knowledge and understanding that funds in the
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1CARE Account shall only be used for qualifying medical expenses, the payor shall
2deposit funds into the CARE Account as so ordered by the court.
3F. One hundred eighty days after the financial institution receives notice or
4otherwise becomes aware of the death of the plaintiff, the financial institution shall
5close the CARE Account and any funds remaining in the account shall revert to each
6payor in proportion to the amount each contributed to the account.
7§1434. Excluded judgments
8The provisions of this Chapter do not apply to the following actions:
9(1) An intentional tort action.
10(2) A medical malpractice action brought pursuant to R.S. 40:1231.1 et seq.
11(3) An action involving sexual assault or sexual battery brought pursuant to
12Civil Code Articles 2315.3, 2315.7, 2315.11, or 2315.13.
13(4) An action for which special damages for future medical expenses would
14otherwise be deposited into a Medicare Set Aside account as provided for by the
15Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
16(5) An action subject to R.S. 13:5106 for which payments are made from the
17Future Medical Care Fund provided for in R.S. 39:1533.2.
18(6) An action in which there are no liable payors.
19Section 2. The provisions of this Act shall have prospective application only and
20 shall not apply to causes of action filed prior to the effective date of this Act.
21Section 3. The provisions of this Act shall become effective on January 1, 2027.
  DIGEST
 The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
 of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
 part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
 HB 1089 Reengrossed  2026 Regular Session  Bamburg
 Abstract: Establishes CARE Accounts for the payment of an award for future medical
  payments resulting from certain delictual actions.
 Proposed law provides a short title and defines "CARE Account" or "Compensation
 Allocated for Reimbursable Expenses Account" as a money market account for which the
 court has ordered the deposit of funds from a special damages award allocated for the
 purpose of future medical payments in a delictual action.
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Proposed law defines "qualifying medical expenses" as amounts paid for medical care as
defined by federal present law (26 U.S.C. 213) that are related to the injury or condition that
is the subject of the judgment.
Proposed law defines "payor" as an insurer obligated by its policy to make payment on a
claim for which the court has ordered payment of future medical expenses to be deposited
into the CARE Account.
Proposed law provides that a third-party administrator is not subject to liability under certain
circumstances.
Proposed law provides for the following:
(1)        A CARE Account is for the use and benefit of the plaintiff for the term of the
  plaintiff's life, and upon the death of the plaintiff, any funds remaining in the CARE
  Account revert to the payor.
(2)        A CARE Account is established by the payor and maintained at a financial
  institution as a money market deposit account.
(3)        Funds in a CARE Account are to be used only for the purchase of qualifying medical
  expenses.
(4)        Methods for a plaintiff to use for reimbursement of a qualifying medical expense if
  the transaction on a CARE Account is declined.
(5)        Prior to depositing funds into the account, proposed law requires the payor to have
  the plaintiff execute an affidavit attesting to his knowledge and understanding that
  the funds in the CARE Account are to be used only for the purchase of qualifying
  medical expenses.
(6)        The closing of a CARE Account 180 days after notice of the death of the plaintiff.
(7)        Exceptions to proposed law regarding cases involving intentional torts, medical
  malpractice, sexual assault, sexual battery, and actions with no liable payors.
Proposed law provides for prospective application.
Effective on Jan. 1, 2027.
(Adds R.S. 6:1431-1434)
Summary of Amendments Adopted by House
  The Committee Amendments Proposed by House Committee on Civil Law and
  Procedure to the original bill:
  1.      Expand the definition of "qualifying medical expenses" to include necessary
  travel expenses.
  2.      Provide that a third-party administrator of the CARE Account is not liable under
  certain circumstances.
  3.      Require an affidavit by the judgment creditor prior to the depositing of funds into
  the CARE Account.
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HLS 26RS-50  REENGROSSED
  HB NO. 1089
   The House Floor Amendments to the engrossed bill:
   1.     Provide that proposed law does not apply to cases involving intentional torts,
  medical malpractice, sexual assault, sexual battery, and actions with no liable
  payors.
   2.     Define "payor" and redefine "qualifying medical expenses".
   3.     Change all references in proposed law from "judgment debtor" to "payor" and
  from "judgment creditor" to "plaintiff".
   4.     Provide for the closing of the CARE Account 180 days after notice of the death
  of the plaintiff.
   5.     Make technical changes.
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CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.