"Granny cam" nursing home bill signed into law by Louisiana governor
BATON ROUGE, La. -- "Granny cams" could soon be coming to Louisiana nursing home rooms. Gov. John Bel Edwards on Thursday signed into law a bill that will allow Louisiana families to install video monitoring systems in their loved ones' nursing home rooms, if certain conditions are met.
Under the new law, nursing homes can't prohibit the cameras or retaliate against residents who want to install them. Cameras will be voluntary, and a long list of requirements would have to be met to use them.
By Jan. 1, nursing homes will have to provide forms to nursing home residents or their legal guardians outlining the ways the cameras can be installed.
The Louisiana Nursing Home Association raised concerns about the bill but couldn't slow its passage.
Last month, CBS News correspondent David Begnaud reported that tens of thousands of elderly and disabled people in Louisiana nursing homes could lose their Medicaid benefits because the state faces a budget shortfall of more than $500 million.