LA HB1089

Creates "CARE Accounts" (Compensation Allocated for Reimbursable Expenses Accounts) as money market accounts to hold court-ordered special damages awards for future medical expenses in tort cases.

Courts must order future medical expense awards be deposited into CARE Accounts unless parties agree otherwise; accounts are owned by the judgment debtor but used for the benefit of the judgment creditor for their lifetime.

Funds may only be used for qualifying medical expenses as defined by CPT and HCPCS codes maintained by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Financial institutions have no duty to verify purchases are qualifying medical expenses and bear no liability for non-qualifying transactions; judgment debtors may hire third-party administrators for compliance.

Upon the judgment creditor's death, any remaining funds revert to the judgment debtor; effective January 1, 2027, applying only to cases filed after that date.