HB 1241

ENROLLED
 2026 Regular Session
  ACT No. 720
 HOUSE BILL NO. 1241  (Substitute for House Bill No. 943 by Representative Firment)
 BY REPRESENTATIVE FIRMENT
1AN ACT
2 To enact R.S. 22:2472, relative to child support enforcement and insurer compliance; to
3require insurers to conduct data matches with the Department of Children and Family
4Services prior to issuing qualifying payments; to provide for withholding and
5remittance of certain payments; to provide for enforcement by the commissioner of
6insurance; to provide for rulemaking; to provide for an effective date; and to provide
7for related matters.
8 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
9Section 1. R.S. 22:2472 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
10§2472. Child support insurance intercept; insurer compliance; enforcement
11A. For the purposes of this Section, the following definitions apply:
12(1) "Claimant" means a person who files a liability claim for bodily injury or
13wrongful death or a claim for workers' compensation benefits.
14(2) "Claim for bodily injury" does not mean a claim filed under the uninsured
15or underinsured coverage of a motor vehicle liability policy.
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 HB NO. 1241  ENROLLED
1(3) "Insurance claim data collection organization" means an organization that
2maintains a centralized database of information concerning insurance claims to assist
3insurers subscribed to the database in processing claims, detecting and preventing
4fraud, and cooperating and coordinating with the federal or state child support
5entities to share relevant information for insurance intercept purposes.
6(4) "Office" means the office of child support within the Department of
7Children and Family Services.
8(5) "Qualifying payment" means a payment that is either a one-time lump
9sum or an installment payment issued by an insurer doing business in the state,
10which is made for the purpose of satisfying, compromising, or settling an insurance
11claim for general damages or lost wages where the payment is in excess of five
12hundred dollars and is intended to be paid directly to the claimant and not to a third
13party, such as a healthcare provider. "Qualifying payment" includes any payment
14scheduled to be issued after a data match conducted pursuant to this Section.
15B. Every insurer doing business in this state shall comply with the obligation
16to conduct data matches and to withhold and remit qualifying payments when
17notified by the Department of Children and Family Services.
18C.(1) Each insurer shall, prior to issuing a qualifying payment, exchange
19information with the office in a manner prescribed by the Department of Children
20and Family Services to verify whether a claimant owes a debt for the support of one
21or more children to the Department of Children and Family Services or to a person
22receiving services from the office.
23(2) To the extent feasible, the office shall facilitate a secure electronic
24process to exchange information with insurers pursuant to this Section. The
25obligation of an insurer to exchange information with the office is discharged upon
26complying with the requirements of this Section. The exchange of information shall
27comply with privacy protections under applicable state and federal laws and
28regulations, including but not limited to the federal Health Insurance Portability and
29Accountability Act.
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1D. To determine whether a claimant owes a debt being enforced by the
2office, all insurers doing business in the state that issue qualifying payments to a
3claimant shall provide minimum identifying information about the claimant to the
4office, which may include the transmission of information to an insurance claim data
5collection organization, the federal office of child support enforcement, the child
6support lien network, or directly to the office in a manner prescribed by the
7commissioner. Minimum identifying information may include the claimant's full
8name, current physical address, and date of birth. The insurer shall provide the
9claimant's social security number or other taxpayer identification number only if that
10information is available in the insurer's records and is necessary to identify the
11claimant.
12E. If an insurer is notified by the office that a claimant owes a debt for the
13support of one or more children to the Department of Children and Family Services
14or to a person receiving services from the office, the insurer shall, upon the receipt
15of a notice issued by the Department of Children and Family Services identifying the
16amount of debt owed, withhold from payment to the claimant the amount specified
17in the notice and remit the amount withheld from the payment to the Department of
18Children and Family Services within twenty days of receipt of the notice. No later
19than sixty days after the Department of Children and Family Services receives a
20payment pursuant to this Subsection the department shall determine the accuracy of
21the amount actually owed and return any amount not owed to the claimant.
22F. The Department of Children and Family Services shall give priority over
23any withholding of payment pursuant to Subsection E of this Section to any lien,
24claim, or demand for reasonable claim-related attorneys' fees, litigation expenses,
25any portion of a claim based on damage or a loss of real or personal property,
26documented unpaid expenses incurred for medical treatment causally related to the
27claim, and any money assigned or designated as funeral or burial expenses.
28G.(1) The Department of Children and Family Services shall consider any
29information received from an insurer pursuant to this Section as confidential. Such
30information shall be used or disclosed by the Department of Children and Family
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1Services only for the purpose of collecting past due child support or for the purpose
2of carrying out the provisions of this Section.
3(2) Information provided by the Department of Children and Family Services
4shall not be used by the insurer or its agent for any purpose other than conducting a
5data match pursuant to this Section and shall not be disclosed to any person except
6to the extent necessary to conduct the data match.
7(3) An insurer or other entity shall not be held liable in any civil or criminal
8action for any act made in good faith pursuant to this Section, including but not
9limited to:
10(a) Any disclosure of information to the Department of Children and Family
11Services.
12(b) The payment of a claim for which a portion of the payment was eligible
13for remittance to the Department of Children and Family Services if the insurer was
14unaware that the payment was eligible for remittance after conducting a data match.
15(c) The withholding of any money from payment to a claimant or the
16remittance of such money to the Department of Children and Family Services.
17H. An insurer shall not delay the disbursement of a payment to a claimant
18to comply with this Section, if doing so would subject the insurer to penalties
19including but not limited to those provided for in R.S. 22:1892; however, the insurer
20shall otherwise provide a reasonable opportunity for the office to respond to a data
21match request prior to issuing a qualifying payment. In the case of periodic
22payments, an insurer is not required to comply with Subsection E of this Section with
23regard to any payments disbursed before receipt of the notice, but shall comply with
24Subsection E of this Section with regard to any payments scheduled after receipt of
25the notice.
26I. If periodic payments will be made to a claimant, the insurer shall, prior to
27issuing each qualifying payment, exchange information with the office in a manner
28prescribed by the Department of Children and Family Services, as provided in
29Subsection C of this Section to verify whether the claimant owes a debt for the
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HB NO. 1241  ENROLLED
1support of one or more children to the Department of Children and Family Services
2or to a person receiving services from the office.
3J.   The commissioner may promulgate rules and regulations for the
4implementation and enforcement of the provisions of this Section.
5Section 2. This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2027.
  SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
  PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
  GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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