BATON ROUGE (AP) — Gov. Bobby Jindal has directed a state crime victim's board to pay hospitals and health centers for sexual assault victims' medical exams.
Jindal's executive order, issued Tuesday, will keep victims from being charged for the cost of a forensic medical exam, billing that advocacy groups and lawmakers called outrageous and improper. Some rape victims have received bills totaling thousands of dollars.
The governor's order seeks to sidestep current limitations on the Crime Victim's Reparation Board. The board said it can't accept bills directly from the medical provider for treatment of rape and sexual assault victims.
Jindal is ordering the board to revise its policies to change that, so a health care provider can seek reimbursement for the sexual assault exam from the board.
– by AP Reporter Melinda Deslatte
