| Virginia Summary of Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Legislation |
| Issue |
Excerpts from Legislation/Rules & Regulations |
| Year Passed |
1998 |
SB585 (Year 1998) / SB1200 (Year 2001) | Regulations |
Full
Implementation by: |
July 1, 2000 |
Statute: § 32.1-64.1.
D. Beginning on July 1, 2000, the Board shall provide by regulation for the giving of hearing screening tests for all infants born in all hospitals.
[Source: S 585 (Year 1998)]
|
Requires
Screening of: |
All Babies |
Statute: § 32.1-64.1. D. Beginning on July 1, 2000, the Board shall provide by regulation for the giving of hearing screening tests for all infants born in all hospitals.
Source: S 585, 1998
Rule: 12VAC5-70-30. Testing. A. General. All newborn infants born in the Commonwealth shall be provided newborn screening tests as specified by §32.1-65 of the Code of Virginia, except that such tests shall not be given to any infant whose parents or guardian objects in writing thereto on the grounds that the testing conflicts with his religious practice or tenets. The written objection shall be incorporated into the medical record.
Source: Administrative Code, Chapter 70, Section 30
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Advisory Committee
Established? |
Yes |
Statute: § 32.1-64.1. E. The Commissioner shall appoint an advisory committee to assist in the design, implementation, and revision of this identification and monitoring system.
Source: S 585, 1998
|
| Covered Benefit of Health Insurance? |
Yes |
Statute: 38.2-3411.4. Coverage for infant hearing screening and related diagnostics.
A. Notwithstanding the provisions of ' 38.2-3419, each insurer proposing to issue individual or group accident and sickness insurance policies providing hospital, medical and surgical, or major medical coverage on an expense-incurred basis; each corporation providing individual or group accident and sickness subscription contracts; and each health maintenance organization providing a health care plan for health care services shall provide coverage for infant hearing screenings and all necessary audiological examinations provided pursuant to ' 32.1-64.1 and as prescribed herein for newborn children under each such policy, contract or plan delivered, issued for delivery or renewed in this Commonwealth on and after July 1, 2001.
B. For purposes of this section, such coverage shall provide coverage for infant hearing screenings and all necessary audiological examinations provided pursuant to ' 32.1-64.1 using any technology approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration, and as recommended by the national Joint Committee on Infant Hearing in its most current position statement addressing early hearing detection and intervention programs. Such coverage shall include benefits for any follow-up audiological examinations as recommended by a physician or audiologist and performed by a licensed audiologist to confirm the existence or absence of hearing loss.
C. Nothing contained in this section shall abrogate any obligation to provide coverage for hearing screening tests or any other hearing screening test or audiological diagnostic procedure pursuant to this section or any other law or regulation of the Commonwealth or of the United States or under the terms or provisions of any policy or plan issued, renewed, reissued or extended in the Commonwealth.
D. The provisions of this section shall not apply to short-term travel, accident only, limited or specified disease policies, or contracts designed for issuance to persons eligible for coverage under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act, known as Medicare, or any other similar coverage under state or federal governmental plans, or to short-term nonrenewable policies of not more than six months' duration.
Source: S1200, 2001
|
Report to
State DOH |
Yes |
Statute: § 32.1-64.1. F. With the assistance of the advisory committee, the Board shall promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary to implement this identification and monitoring system. These rules and regulations shall include criteria, including current screening methodology, for the identification of infants (i) with hearing impairment and (ii) at risk of hearing impairment and may shall include the scope of the information to be reported, reporting forms, screening protocols, appropriate mechanisms for follow-up, relationships between the identification and monitoring system and other state agency programs or activities and mechanisms for review and evaluation of the activities of the system. The identification and monitoring system may shall collect the name, address, sex, race, and any other information determined to be pertinent by the Board, regarding infants determined to be at risk of hearing impairment or to have hearing loss.
Source: S 585, 1998
|
Provision of
Educational
Materials? |
Yes |
Statute: § 32.1-64.2. Confidentiality of records; publication; Commissioner required to contact parents, physicians, and relevant local early intervention program.
The Commissioner and all other persons to whom data is submitted pursuant to § 32.1-64.1 shall keep such information confidential. No publication of information shall be made except in the form of statistical or other studies which do not identify individuals. However, the Commissioner shall contact the parents of children identified with hearing impairment or at risk of hearing impairment, their physicians and the relevant local early intervention program to provide them with information about available public and private health care and educational resources including any hearing impairment clinics.
Source: S 585 (Year 1998)
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| Informed Consent by Parents? |
|
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| Liability Immunity? |
|
|
| Parental Objection Exclusion? |
Yes |
Statute: § 32.1-64.1. H. No testing required to be performed or offered by this section shall be performed if the parents of the infant object to the test based on their bona fide religious convictions.
Source: S 585, 1998
Rule: 12VAC5-70-30.A. All newborn infants born in the Commonwealth shall be provided newborn screening tests as specified by §32.1-65 of the Code of Virginia, except that such tests shall not be given to any infant whose parents or guardian objects in writing thereto on the grounds that the testing conflicts with his religious practice or tenets. The written objection shall be incorporated into the medical record.
Source: Administrative Code, 12VAC5-70-30, 2001
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