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Addiction treatment marketing rules in Louisiana
What you can claim, how you can pay for referrals, and where Louisiana diverges from the federal floor. Derived from the live ruleset library.
Yes. Louisiana has its own addiction-treatment marketing law, and Pre-Trip carries it as a live, human-reviewed ruleset, last verified 2026-07-23. On top of the federal floor that applies everywhere (EKRA, 42 CFR Part 2, and the FTC Act), Louisiana adds state-specific limits on what you can claim and how you can pay for referrals. A clean pass here means the copy cleared both layers.
Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, La.
Every Louisiana scan also runs the always-on federal layer: 42 CFR Part 2 confidentiality and FTC endorsement rules in addic, Platform certification requirements for addiction treatment adve, EKRA referral remuneration in marketing copy, FTC deceptive health claims and endorsements. A ruleset counts toward a clean pass only while it is published, matches its content hash, and its review clock is fresh, which is why the date above is load-bearing.
The claim types Louisiana law puts off-limits in treatment marketing. Each is compiled from the cited section; the scanner reads your copy for them, and the patterns stay on the server.
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High riskPromises of cure or guarantees of treatment success for substance use disorder.
Promises of cure or guarantees of treatment outcome for substance use disorder are unfair or deceptive acts or practices in trade or commerce, declared unlawful by the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, La. R.S. 51:1405(A), which the Louisiana Attorney General enforces and which carries a private right of action.
La. R.S. 51:1405(A) (LUTPA), https://www.legis.la.gov/
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High riskOffers of free or covered travel, airfare, lodging, or scholarship beds as an inducement to enter treatment.
Free travel, airfare, or lodging offered as an inducement to enter treatment, presented misleadingly, is an unfair or deceptive act or practice under La. R.S. 51:1405(A). Where such value is tied to a third party bringing or referring a patient to a residential substance abuse facility, a mental health facility, or a facility licensed for SUD treatment, it may also implicate the criminal referral-for-value bar in La. R.S. 14:70.5.1 (Act 312 of 2026); confirm the arrangement with counsel.
La. R.S. 51:1405(A) (LUTPA), https://www.legis.la.gov/
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High riskOffering to provide or arrange transportation to treatment or admission.
Transportation offered as a misleading inducement to enter treatment is an unfair or deceptive act or practice under La. R.S. 51:1405(A).
La. R.S. 51:1405(A) (LUTPA), https://www.legis.la.gov/
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FlagA directory, helpline, or placement service describing itself as independent, unbiased, or neutral in copy that routes callers to treatment providers.
An independence or neutrality claim by a service that in fact routes callers to paying providers is an unfair or deceptive act or practice under La. R.S. 51:1405(A). In Louisiana the concealed arrangement is doubly sensitive, because paying or receiving anything of value for a patient referral to a residential substance abuse facility, a mental health facility, or a facility licensed for SUD treatment is a crime under La. R.S. 14:70.5.1 unless the fee fits the value-independent safe harbor at subsection (B).
La. R.S. 51:1405(A) (LUTPA), https://www.legis.la.gov/
The exposure Louisiana attaches to a marketing violation, by tier. Exact amounts and elements live in the cited statute.
- CriminalPatient-brokering or referral-payment conduct can carry criminal exposure. The tier is in the cited statute.
- CivilCivil penalties per violation and deceptive-practices exposure. Amounts are in the cited section.
- LicenseAdvertising violations can trigger license discipline for the facility or the provider.
What the scanner does with two versions of the same idea. The flagged line is rendered the way Pre-Trip renders a finding; the clean line is a pass.
Our program guarantees your recovery from addiction, for good.
A promise of cure or a guaranteed outcome for substance use disorder. Outcomes cannot be guaranteed, and the claim is unsubstantiated on its face.
Cure and guarantee claims · La. R.S. 14:70.5.1 (Act 312 of 2026, HB676), enrolled text
Our program gives people the tools and the support to build lasting recovery.
Describes the service and the support without promising a guaranteed result.
Compensation for marketers, recruiters, or referral partners described as paid per admission, per patient, per referral, or per placement, or otherwise conditioned on the volume or value of patients delivered.. In Louisiana, La. R.S. 14:70.5.1 (Act 312 of 2026) makes it a crime to knowingly solicit, offer, pay, or receive anything of value for a referral to a residential substance abuse, mental health, or SUD facility, punishable by up to five years and a $50,000 fine; fees that do not vary with patient volume are excepted.
18 U.S.C. 220 makes paying or receiving remuneration for referrals to recovery homes, clinical treatment facilities, or labs a federal crime, up to $200,000 and 10 years per occurrence, and labeling t
Louisiana and federal sources
- La. R.S. 14:70.5.1 (Act 312 of 2026, HB676), enrolled text primary
- La. R.S. 51:1405(A) (Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law) primary
- 42 C.F.R. Part 2 (eCFR current text) primary
- 16 C.F.R. Part 255 Endorsement Guides primary
- HHS fact sheet, 42 CFR Part 2 Final Rule (2024)
- 15 U.S.C. 45d (OARFPA 2018) primary
- Google Ads Healthcare and medicines policy primary
- Meta advertising standards, addiction treatment primary
- LegitScript addiction treatment certification
Pre-Trip is a rigorous screen, not legal advice. Counsel decides; we help you arrive prepared. Coverage for Louisiana reflects the library as of the build and changes as the law does.