BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Louisiana lawmakers have agreed to expand the state’s Right to Try Act, which gives terminally-ill patients access to experimental drugs and treatments.
Passed in 2014, the act allows terminally-ill patients with permission from their doctors to use treatment methods that aren’t approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Insurers don’t have to cover the costs.
A bill that won final passage Wednesday with a 38-0 Senate vote will include robotic devices that help people unable to talk or write in the act’s provisions.
The expansion proposal by Kenner Rep. Julie Stokes heads next to Gov. John Bel Edwards’ desk. It is championed by beloved former New Orleans Saints player Steve Gleason, who has ALS and uses similar technology to speak.
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House Bill 179: www.legis.la.gov
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