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American Press
2 days ago
- Business
- American Press
Abraham gives legislative wrap-up: Insurance rates, education shortfalls addressed
State Sen. Mark Abraham, a Republican, speaks to members of Kiwanis Club Lake Charles Tuesday afternoon at The Charleston. (Crystal Stevenson / American Press) From sweeping insurance reforms to teacher pay raises, the 2025 Louisiana Legislative session closed with a flurry of bills aimed at addressing the state's toughest challenges — insurance premiums and public education shortfalls. 'Sometimes not everybody knows everything that's going on in Baton Rouge and it's our job to inform you of what went on and answer questions that you might have and need to have answered,' Abraham told members of Kiwanis Club Lake Charles on Tuesday. 'I'm Just a Bill' Committees are in place for both the House and the Senate and bills must pass through both sets of committees before they can move forward. 'They have to be vetted and you have people on each side who get a chance to say if it's a good bill or a bad bill and if that bill gets out of committee, it goes to the floor,' Abraham said. 'Once it passes the Senate floor, it goes to the House and the same procedure starts all over again.' Abraham said the purpose of those multiple steps is to make sure bills are vetted and the public understands what each bill would entail. 'The public needs a chance to come to the Capitol, tell us what they like or don't like about a bill and then we try to make a decision,' he said. 'Lots of bills get killed in committee. Some get killed on the floor. That's part of the process; you have to cover all the bases before a bill becomes law.' In this most recent session, there were 700 House bills and 250 Senate bills introduced. Not all passed. Some of the 'hot topic' bills that became law this legislative session focused on education, food safety and auto insurance. Auto insurance House Bill 148 — which Abraham described as 'very controversial' — involved Gov. Jeff Landry and Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple. 'The governor said, 'We need to make sure the commissioner of insurance can lower rates any time he wants, any time he feels like it.' Temple said, 'No, I don't want to do that because if you have the impression that the insurance commissioner can lower the rate anytime they want, how many insurance companies do you think would want to come to Louisiana under those circumstances?' The public thought it was a good idea, but in business that's not good to do. You can't tell someone who's trying to make a profit that at any time you can cut their rates so that they can't make a profit.' Abraham said when the bill made it to the Senate, language was added that required the commissioner to have actuary numbers and 'sound footing' on why he wants to lower the rate. The bill ultimately passed. House Bill 450 requires someone who sues over injuries in a car accident to prove those injuries occurred during that accident and not one prior. 'Hopefully this will lower the claims and payouts,' Abraham said. House Bill 434 'is a pretty good one,' he said. 'If you are uninsured and you get in a wreck, you cannot collect any money unless the damage is over $100,000. If you don't play by our rules, you don't get to collect any money.' House Bill 436 limits the damages that 'undocumented immigrants' can recover in car accident lawsuits. Specifically, it prohibits the award of general damages — like pain and suffering — but they can still recover special damages like medical bills. House Bill 549 provides for insurance premium discounts for commercial trucks that are equipped with dashboard cameras and telematics systems. 'We don't like to put a Band-Aid on anybody, but there is an exception to every rule,' Abraham said. 'We don't want to tell an insurance company that they have to give a discount, but in this particular case we did.' If truckers put a camera in their vehicle, they get a 5 percent discount on their rates. 'A lot of information can be gleaned from these cameras — like who is at fault, who is not a fault,' Abraham said. 'We feel like claims might go down because the cameras are there.' House Bill 431 significantly changes how fault is handled in lawsuits after car accidents. 'If you are at fault 51 percent, you cannot collect any money,' Abraham said. 'If you are 40 percent at fault, then you can collect 60 percent of damages.' Abraham said, again, the goal is to reduce insurance claims in the state, therefore dropping insurance rates overall for drivers. CVS bill House Bill 358 prohibits the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy from granting or renewing permits for pharmacies that are wholly or partially owned or operated by pharmacy benefit managers. 'CVS is the only one that is vertically integrated,' Abraham said. 'They own the manufacturer, they own a pharmacy benefits manager and they own the pharmacy.' Abraham said CVS operates 120 stores in Louisiana and they have 'hundreds of thousands of people who buy prescriptions.' Originally the bill set rules for how pharmacists could work remotely. In the last minutes of the session, the addendum was added by a conference committee of six members. 'It wasn't vetted, we haven't had the pros and cons of the other committees to say this is why CVS is good or why CVS is bad. That was not debated and not talked about. Six people decided this,' Abraham said. The Senate killed the bill by refusing to hold a final vote. There is a possibility that the issue of PBM ownership could be revisited in a special legislative session. Teacher pay raises In March, Louisiana voters rejected proposed Constitutional Amendment 2, which would have made one-time pay stipends of $2,000 for teachers and $1,000 for support staff permanent. Abraham said in April 2026, voters will be asked again — though there is a better plan this time around. 'We have about $2 billion in a savings account that is dedicated to education. It earns about 3 percent a year. It's been sitting there a long time,' Abraham said. The plan is to use some of that $2 billion to pay down teacher retirement debt, he said, which will in turn saves school boards money since they have to pay a 25 percent matching fee on teacher retirement. 'They are going to take that savings and give it to the teachers as a permanent raise,' Abraham said. 'It will be a $2,500 salary increase for teachers and $1,125 for support staff.' Among the other education-related bills: House Bill 262 mandates computer science as a high school graduation requirement, starting with students entering ninth grade in the 2026-2027 school year. This means students graduating in 2029-2030 and beyond will need to complete at least one computer science course to earn their diploma. House Bill 77 creates the TOPS Excellence award, which is available to any student with a 3.5 grade-point average and a score of 31 or higher on the ACT or an equivalent score on a similar exam. The scholarship will provide tuition and fees at the Louisiana public university the student chooses or $12,000, whichever is less. House Bill 279 increase mandatory anti-hazing training for fraternities, sororities and other college student organizations from one hour to two hours. Other bills Senate Bill 14 , also known as the 'Make Louisiana Healthy Again' bill, significantly impacts food safety and ingredient regulations. The law focuses on ingredient disclosure, school meal standards and restaurant practices. Certain food dyes are forbidden and seed oils used must now be disclosed. House Bill 640 establishes the Office of Louisiana Highway Construction. This new office, within the governor's office under the Division of Administration, will handle the planning, design, construction and maintenance of state highways that are not eligible for federal funding. The OLHC will have the authority to enter into contracts, accept grants, and develop cost-sharing agreements. House Bill 570 establishes protections for minors using mobile applications and digital platforms, creating new legal requirements for both application store providers and developers. Now teenagers need parental permission to download apps like TikTok, Snapchat or Instagram. Senate Bill 99 bans red light cameras statewide and limit speed enforcement cameras to designated school zones during specified hours.
American Press
25-04-2025
- Health
- American Press
Responding to first responders: With You supports first responders through mental health, stress crisis
With You founder Allen Cormier speaks to members of the Kiwanis Club Lake Charles. Cormier said With You provides a community where first responders are free from the stigma of seeking help for mental health issues while providing support for counseling, physical and mental therapies, and other holistic treatments. (Crystal Stevenson | / American Press) First responders dedicate their lives to protecting their communities. Their work is intense, unpredictable and regularly exposes them to high-stress environments. With You is built on the shoulders of these first responders, providing a community where they are free from the stigma of seeking help for mental health issues while providing support for counseling, physical and mental therapies and other holistic treatments. Founder Allen Cormier knows the psychological toll these workers are experiencing because he's battling it himself. After earning his bachelor's degree, Cormier enlisted in the Marine Corps, seeking to make a positive impact on the world. After serving, he returned to Lake Charles and built a distinguished career in law enforcement, accumulating over a decade of valuable experience. Cormier said as part of combat training, Marines are taught to 'suck it up and suffer in silence.' 'You're taught from day one to put up with the situation and go,' he said. 'That carried over into my first responder career where I just showed up, did my job, shut my mouth, didn't complain and if there was a problem I was the problem-solver.' That's not sustainable — something he discovered five years ago when the eye of Hurricane Laura was hovering over Southwest Louisiana. When the storm hit, Cormier — who was then in his eighth year working with the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office — was stationed with about 600 inmates at Phelps Correctional Center in DeQuincy. 'There was me and about seven other guys with about 300 of the inmates in an old building we called the garment room,' he said. 'It was built in the 1950s, made of cinder blocks and had plexiglass windows.' Surrounded by 300 emotional men, things started to get 'kinda rowdy,' he said. 'Fear is kicking in for all of us.' Cormier said as he stood there, considering how the situation could unfold, he couldn't help but think about 'the last bullet' concept he was taught in the Marines. 'You keep the last bullet for yourself if you're in combat because you know the last thing you want to do is become a prisoner of war,' he said. 'The idea is you fight until you have one bullet left. The last one's for you. I wasn't suicidal, but the thought process of what could go wrong was in my head.' In the weeks following the storm's passing, Cormier said his body reacted to the stress with a myriad of health issues — including a panic attack. 'It happened at work. I'm sitting in my offi ce, lights off, our medical staff is right across the hallway and I refused to get up and go ask for help,' he said. 'Ju st for some reason, I was so tired, so exhausted and I figured I was worth more dead and if I have a heart attack they'll come find me in a couple of hours. Life insurance will pay out and my wife and kids will be taken care of. 'That day changed the rest of my life,' he said. 'I told my wife about what had happened at Phelps, what I was feeling and she was like, 'Look, I can't do this anymore. Either you get some help or we're going to have to have some serious conversations. I know you're not the same.' ' He agreed to go to physical therapy and mental health counseling; however, in his search for a counselor who specialized in helping first responders he came up empty. 'If I was a rape victim, there were plenty of counselors; if I had family issues, there were plenty of counselors; if I was a vet, there's plenty of combat experience counselors. But looking for a first responder counselor in the area was just not existent.' He ultimately met with a local counselor who told him she had never dealt with first responders before but if he 'showed her grace, she would show him grace.' 'Our first conversation was, 'I don't know what I'm going to tell you because I'm not comfortable in this environment. Here's my gun, here's my badge, if I feel you're going to try to take this from me, I'm out the door. I'd rather go suffer in silence, pay my bills, take care of my family than talk about issues that aren't going to go anywhere.' She looked at me and said, 'I'm not going to take your job from you. I have an idea of what you're going through — long-term pain and identity. The injury might be gone but the connections between your nerves and your brain are still there.' ' Cormier said his connection to his badge and his gun, who he was as a Marine and as a deputy are part of his identity. As he continues his own recovery journey, Cormier said he's noticing many of his peers feel the same and are struggling, too. 'We don't talk about it, though we all share the same experiences,' he said. 'Shifts go to the same calls together, we see all kinds of crazy stuff together but we don't talk about what it does to us.' That was when With You was formed. 'One of my buddies shared with me what had happened to him just back to back to back,' he said. 'This is a guy I've known through his whole career in law enforcement, who I talk to on a regular basis, and I never noticed that he was struggling. That night, we came up with the realization that if I need help, he needs help, who else in our group needs help?' Cormier said his goal is to break the stigma of 'just shut up and take it.' 'We're having real conversations about what's going on behind the scenes and if we're not mentally prepared and focused we can't provide the best service for the public,' he said. 'If we're not the best versions of ourselves, we don't get to go home and be the best versions of ourselves to our families.' Cormier said With You focuses on mental, physical and spiritual well-being. 'We cover the whole person,' he said. He said the nonprofit has built a network of counselors willing to help first responders and a peer support group that is certified in cognitive behavior therapy. 'Actors put on costumes and they become a character. Well, first responders put on their costume, their uniform, and they tend to become who they need to be in order to survive the shift,' Cormier said. 'The problem is when they go home each day, it gets harder and harder to put down that emotional role when you take that uniform off.' Cormier said With You is providing the help first responders need to become 'a better person, which brings better success to their departments, which provides better support for civilians and stone by stone it's a better environment for us to work in and for the community to grow up in.' First responders are the backbone of safety for our community, and failing that mission is not an option, Cormier said. • For more information on With You, visit their Facebook page at WithYouSWLA.
