Louisiana state lawmakers have passed a bill that bans the creation of most freestanding emergency rooms, according to an article on the Becker's Hospital Review website.
The law was created in an effort to protect rural hospitals.
The bill will prohibit freestanding ERs that are not part of a hospital's main campus or owned by a hospital but located off-site.
No hospital may build an off-site, stand-alone ER within the primary service area of a rural hospital.