08 LC 33
2228
House
Bill 1177
By:
Representatives Manning of the
32nd,
Cooper of the
41st,
Houston of the
170th,
Gardner of the
57th,
and Ashe of the
56th
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Chapter 1 of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to general provisions related to health, so as to require a hearing screening
for all newborns; to provide for advice and assistance from the Department of
Human Resources to physicians and hospitals; to authorize the establishment of
fees for the screening; to provide for a religious exemption; to provide for
related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Chapter
1 of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general
provisions related to health, is amended by revising Code Section 31-1-3.2,
relating to hearing screenings for newborns, as follows:
"31-1-3.2.
(a)
The General Assembly finds, determines, and declares:
(1)
That hearing loss occurs in newborn infants more frequently than any other
health condition for which newborn infant screening is required;
(2)
That 80 percent of the language ability of a child is established by the time
the child is 18 months of age and that hearing is vitally important to the
healthy development of such language skills;
(3)
That early detection of hearing loss in a child and early intervention and
treatment has been demonstrated to be highly effective in facilitating a
child´s healthy development in a manner consistent with the child´s
age and cognitive ability;
(4)
That children with hearing loss who do not receive such early intervention and
treatment frequently require special educational services and that such services
are publicly funded for the vast majority of children with hearing needs in the
state;
(5)
That appropriate testing and identification of newborn infants with hearing loss
will facilitate early intervention and treatment and may therefore serve the
public purposes of promoting the healthy development of children and reducing
public expenditure;
(6)
The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Speech-Language-Hearing
Association, the American Academy of Audiology, and the American Academy of
Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery have recently endorsed the implementation
of universal newborn hearing screenings and recommended that such screenings be
performed in all birthing hospitals and coordinated by state departments of
public health; and
(7)
That consumers should be entitled to know whether the hospital at which they
choose to deliver their infant provides newborn hearing screening.
(b)
As used in this Code section, the term 'newborn infant' means an infant after
delivery but before discharge from the hospital.
(c)
For reasons specified in subsection (a) of this Code section, the General
Assembly determines that it would be beneficial and in the best interests of the
development of the children of the state that newborn infants´ hearing be
screened.
(d)
Reserved.
(e)
It is the intent of the General Assembly that, by July 1,
2002
On and after
July 1, 2008, newborn hearing screening
shall
be conducted on
no fewer
than 95 percent of all newborn infants
born in hospitals in this state, using procedures established by rule and
regulation of the Board of Human Resources
after
review of any recommendations of the advisory committee on hearing in newborn
infants, created in subsection (d) of this Code
section. Toward that end, on and after
July 1,
2001
2008,
every licensed or certified hospital and physician shall educate the parents of
newborn infants born in such hospitals of the
importance
necessity
of screening the hearing of newborn infants and follow-up care. Education shall
not be considered a substitute for the hearing screening described in this
subsection. Every licensed or permitted hospital shall report annually to the
Department of Human Resources concerning the following:
(1)
The number of newborn infants born in the hospital;
(2)
The number of newborn infants screened;
(3)
The number of newborn infants who passed the
screening,
if administered; and
(4)
The number of newborn infants who did not pass the
screening,
if administered.
(f)
The advisory committee on hearing in newborn infants shall determine which
hospitals or other health care providers in this state are ordering and
administering newborn hearing screening to newborn infants on a voluntary basis
and the number of newborn infants screened. The advisory committee on hearing in
newborn infants shall report to the General Assembly and Governor by December 1,
2001, concerning the following:
(1)
The number of hospitals and other health care providers administering such
voluntary screenings;
(2)
The number of newborn infants screened as compared to the total number of
infants born in such hospitals and institutions;
(3)
The number of newborn infants who passed the screening, if administered;
and
(4)
The number of newborn infants who did not pass the screening, if
administered.
(g)
Subject to available appropriations, the advisory committee on hearing in
newborn infants shall make the report described in subsection (f) of this Code
section available throughout the state and specifically available to physicians
whose practice includes the practice of obstetrics or the care of newborn
infants, to consumer groups, to managed care organizations, and to the
media.
(h)(e)
If the
number of newborn infants screened does not equal or exceed 95 percent of all
newborn infants born in hospitals in this state by July 1, 2002, or falls below
95 percent at any time thereafter, the advisory committee shall continue to work
with hospitals and physicians to achieve that
goal. The
advisory
committee
department
shall advise and assist hospitals and physicians regarding the conditions and
procedures under which a parent or guardian of a child may object to and thereby
exempt the child from such screening for religious reasons.
The
advisory committee shall study and address those hospitals with a low volume of
births, as determined by the Department of Human Resources based upon
recommendations by the advisory committee on hearing in newborn infants, which
may arrange otherwise for newborn infant hearing screening.
(i)(f)
A physician, registered professional nurse, including a certified nurse midwife,
or other health professional attending a birth outside a hospital or institution
shall provide information, as established by the department, to parents
regarding places where the parents may have their infants´ screening and
the
importance
necessity
of such screening.
(j)(g)
The department shall encourage the cooperation of local health departments,
health care clinics,
local
school
districts
systems,
health care providers, and any other appropriate resources to promote the
screening of newborn infants´ hearing and early identification and
intervention for those determined to have hearing loss for those infants born
outside a hospital or institution.
(h)
The department shall be authorized to establish and periodically adjust, by rule
and regulation, fees associated with the screening conducted pursuant to this
Code section to help defray or meet the costs incurred by the department. In no
event shall the fees exceed such costs, both direct and indirect, in providing
such screenings and related services, provided that no services shall be denied
on the basis of inability to pay. All fees paid thereunder shall be paid into
the general fund of the State of Georgia.
(i)
The requirements of this Code section with regard to screening shall not apply
to any infant whose parents object in writing thereto on the grounds that such
tests and treatment conflict with their religious tenets and
practices."
SECTION
2.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.