Senate Bill No. 516, introduced by Senator Myers, establishes new licensure requirements for hospitals that provide emergency services in Louisiana. Effective August 1, 2026, the bill mandates that hospitals must maintain a minimum of thirty inpatient beds and fifteen emergency department beds to be eligible for a hospital license or for license renewal. Additionally, hospitals are required to fully comply with the federal Emergency Treatment and Active Labor Act of 1986 (EMTALA), regardless of their participation in Medicare.

The bill also outlines specific exceptions to these requirements, exempting certain types of hospitals from the new regulations. These exceptions include off-site campuses of main hospitals, critical access hospitals, rural hospitals as defined by state law, physician-owned hospitals that do not offer 24-hour emergency medical services, and hospitals owned or operated by local political subdivisions.