HF 1950

as introduced - 79th Legislature (1995 - 1996) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to health; requiring hearing loss screening 
  1.3             for newborn infants; creating an advisory committee; 
  1.4             proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.5             chapter 144. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [144.1251] [TESTS OF NEWBORN INFANTS FOR 
  1.8   HEARING LOSS.] 
  1.9      Every newborn infant shall be screened for hearing loss in 
  1.10  order to prevent the consequences of unidentified hearing loss 
  1.11  unless the parents of that child object on the grounds that the 
  1.12  test would conflict with their religious tenets or practices. 
  1.13     The physician or midwife attending a newborn infant shall 
  1.14  have the infant subjected to hearing screening.  The hearing 
  1.15  screening test must include auditory brainstem response (ABR), 
  1.16  automated ABR, evoked otoacoustic emissions (EOAE), or 
  1.17  appropriate technology that has been preapproved by the advisory 
  1.18  committee for identification of infant hearing loss. 
  1.19     The hearing screening shall be a covered benefit 
  1.20  reimbursable by all health plan companies as defined in section 
  1.21  62Q.01 except for supplemental policies which only provide 
  1.22  coverage for specific diseases, hospital indemnity, Medicare 
  1.23  supplement, or other supplemental policies.  The department of 
  1.24  human services shall pay for the screening if the patient is 
  1.25  eligible for medical assistance under chapter 256B.  In the 
  2.1   absence of a third-party payer, the charges for the screening 
  2.2   shall be paid by the hospital or other health care facility 
  2.3   where the birth occurred.  
  2.4      The advisory committee for identification of infant hearing 
  2.5   loss is created to advise the commissioner of health, or a 
  2.6   designee, regarding the validity and cost of screening 
  2.7   procedures.  The advisory committee shall:  (1) meet at least 
  2.8   four times per year; (2) be provided support services by the 
  2.9   department of health; (3) be chaired by an individual elected by 
  2.10  the advisory committee members; and (4) be composed of eleven 
  2.11  members, appointed by the director of the following professions 
  2.12  or organizations, where appropriate: 
  2.13     (i) a representative of the health insurance industry; 
  2.14     (ii) two representatives of the following physician groups: 
  2.15  pediatrics, family practice, or ENT, designated by the Minnesota 
  2.16  Medical Association; 
  2.17     (iii) two audiologists designated by the Minnesota chapter 
  2.18  of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and the 
  2.19  Minnesota Academy of Audiology; 
  2.20     (iv) a representative of hospital neonatal nurseries; 
  2.21     (v) a representative of Part H (IDEA) early childhood 
  2.22  special education; 
  2.23     (vi) the commissioner of the Minnesota department of health 
  2.24  or a designee; 
  2.25     (vii) a representative of the Minnesota department of human 
  2.26  services; 
  2.27     (viii) a public health nurse; and 
  2.28     (ix) a consumer. 
  2.29  The advisory committee shall not collect a per diem or 
  2.30  compensation as provided in section 15.0575.  The advisory 
  2.31  committee expires July 1, 2001. 
  2.32     Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  2.33     Section 1 is effective July 1, 1996.