The state House has approved the "Hope for Louisiana Patients" act, which allows critically ill patients to access experimental treatments not yet approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), provided they meet certain conditions.
"HB 899 … received nothing but positive feedback, frankly, from legislators, so I'm very hopeful we'll pass the bill and the governor will sign it," Rep. Mark Wright (R) recently told AFR's "At the Core" program. "We have a bill related to 'Right To Try' from 2014 that was passed, but this is just sort of a step beyond."
He added that Louisiana has facilities available to help patients with these situations.
"I think it's a real feel-good bill," he said. "It's the type of thing that can solve somebody's problem or really save their life to a certain extent, depending on the issue. I'm thrilled to be a part of it, and I really appreciate the opportunity to author the bill."
The vote was 100-0. Five members of the House were absent at the time.
Other sponsors include Stephanie Berault (R), Raymond Crews (R), Peter Egan (R), Jay Gallé (R), and Brach Myers (R).
