1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to health; requiring screening of newborn 
  1.3             infants for hearing loss; proposing coding for new law 
  1.4             in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 144. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  [144.124] [TESTS OF NEWBORN INFANTS FOR HEARING 
  1.7   LOSS.] 
  1.8      Subdivision 1.  [SCREENING REQUIRED.] By the year 2000, all 
  1.9   newborn infants shall be screened for hearing loss to prevent 
  1.10  the consequences of unidentified hearing loss unless the parents 
  1.11  of the child object on the grounds that the test conflicts with 
  1.12  their religious beliefs. 
  1.13     Subd. 2.  [PHASE-IN.] Within one year of the effective date 
  1.14  of this section, every hospital or other health care facility 
  1.15  where births occur shall submit to the advisory committee 
  1.16  established under subdivision 7, a plan to achieve universal 
  1.17  screening of all newborn infants for hearing loss within two 
  1.18  years.  Within two years of the effective date of this section, 
  1.19  every hospital or other health care facility where births occur 
  1.20  shall screen 75 percent of all newborn infants for hearing 
  1.21  loss.  Within three years of the effective date of this section, 
  1.22  every hospital or other health care facility where births occur 
  1.23  shall screen 95 percent of all newborn infants for hearing loss. 
  1.24     Subd. 3.  [SCREENING REQUIREMENTS.] It shall be the 
  1.25  responsibility of the physician or midwife attending a newborn 
  2.1   infant to have the infant screened for hearing loss.  The 
  2.2   hearing screening test must include auditory brainstem response 
  2.3   (ABR), automated ABR, evoked otoacoustic emissions (EOAE), or 
  2.4   other appropriate technology that has been preapproved by the 
  2.5   advisory committee under subdivision 7 for identification of 
  2.6   infant hearing loss. 
  2.7      Subd. 4.  [MANDATED COVERAGE.] The hearing screening shall 
  2.8   be a covered benefit reimbursable by all health plans as defined 
  2.9   in section 62Q.01, including the coverage described in section 
  2.10  62A.011, subdivision 3, clause (7).  In the absence of a 
  2.11  third-party payer, the charges for the screening shall be paid 
  2.12  by the hospital or other health care facility where the birth 
  2.13  occurs. 
  2.14     Subd. 5.  [EXEMPTION.] By rule, the commissioner of health 
  2.15  may allow certain institutions to otherwise arrange for the 
  2.16  hearing screening of infants born in the institution due to a 
  2.17  low volume of births at the institution.  However, the 
  2.18  institution shall ensure that infants born in the facility are 
  2.19  tested for hearing loss in accordance with subdivision 2. 
  2.20     Subd. 6.  [NONINSTITUTION BIRTHS.] A physician, nurse, 
  2.21  midwife, or other health professional attending a birth outside 
  2.22  of a hospital or health care facility shall provide information, 
  2.23  as established by the commissioner of health, to parents 
  2.24  regarding places where the parents may have their infants' 
  2.25  hearing tested and the importance of such testing. 
  2.26     Subd. 7.  [ADVISORY COMMITTEE.] (a) The commissioner of 
  2.27  health shall appoint an advisory committee for identification of 
  2.28  infant hearing loss to make recommendations to the commissioner 
  2.29  of health, or a designee, concerning the following: 
  2.30     (1) the validity and cost of screening procedures; 
  2.31     (2) the number of births at an institution sufficient to 
  2.32  impose screening requirements on the institution under 
  2.33  subdivision 3; 
  2.34     (3) the manner in which screening results are to be 
  2.35  recorded; 
  2.36     (4) whether plans submitted by institutions under 
  3.1   subdivision 2 are adequate to achieve universal screening of all 
  3.2   newborn infants for hearing loss within two years; 
  3.3      (5) guidelines to ensure that appropriate medical, 
  3.4   educational, and other follow-up services are made available if 
  3.5   a newborn infant is referred from the hearing screening; and 
  3.6      (6) methods to facilitate interagency and multidisciplinary 
  3.7   participation in determining and providing appropriate follow-up 
  3.8   services for infants who are referred from the hearing screening.
  3.9      (b) The advisory committee shall: 
  3.10     (1) meet at least four times per year; 
  3.11     (2) have support services provided by the department of 
  3.12  health; 
  3.13     (3) be chaired by an individual elected by the advisory 
  3.14  committee members; and 
  3.15     (4) be composed of 12 members, including: 
  3.16     (i) a representative of the health insurance industry 
  3.17  designated by the health insurance industry; 
  3.18     (ii) two representatives of the following physician groups 
  3.19  designated by the Minnesota Medical Association:  pediatrics, 
  3.20  family practice, or ENT; 
  3.21     (iii) two audiologists designated by the Minnesota chapter 
  3.22  of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and the 
  3.23  Minnesota Academy of Audiology; 
  3.24     (iv) a representative of hospital neonatal nurseries; 
  3.25     (v) a representative of Part H (IDEA) early childhood 
  3.26  special education; 
  3.27     (vi) the commissioner of health or a designee; 
  3.28     (vii) a representative of the department of human services; 
  3.29     (viii) a public health nurse; 
  3.30     (ix) a parent; and 
  3.31     (x) a deaf or hard-of-hearing person. 
  3.32     The advisory committee shall not collect a per diem or 
  3.33  compensation as provided in section 15.0575.  The advisory 
  3.34  committee shall expire on July 1, 2003.