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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 6821
January Session, 2023
AN ACT CONCERNING CYTOMEGALOVIRUS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 19a-55 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2023): 2
(a) There is established a newborn screening program. The 3
Commissioner of Public Health shall (1) administer the newborn 4
screening program, (2) direct persons identified through the screening 5
program to appropriate specialty centers for treatments, consistent 6
with any applicable confidentiality requirements, and (3) set the fees to 7
be charged to institutions to cover all expenses of the comprehensive 8
screening program including testing, tracking and treatment, subject to 9
the approval of the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management. 10
The fees to be charged pursuant to subdivision (3) of this subsection 11
shall be set at a minimum of ninety-eight dollars. 12
(b) The administrative officer or other person in charge of each 13
institution caring for newborn infants, a nurse-midwife licensed 14
pursuant to chapter 377 or a midwife shall cause to have administered 15
to every such newborn infant in his or her care a blood spot specimen 16
and an HIV-related test, as defined in section 19a-581, except that the 17
person responsible for testing may omit such test if the mother has had 18 Substitute Bill No. 6821
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an HIV-related test pursuant to section 19a-90 or 19a-593. The blood 19
spot specimen shall be collected not earlier than twenty-four hours 20
after the birth of the newborn infant and not later than forty-eight 21
hours after the birth of such infant, unless the institution caring for 22
newborn infants, nurse-midwife licensed pursuant to chapter 377 or 23
midwife determines that a situation exists to warrant an early 24
collection of the specimen or if collection of the specimen is medically 25
contraindicated. Situations that warrant early collection of the 26
specimen shall include, but not be limited to, the imminent transfusion 27
of blood products, dialysis, early discharge of the newborn infant from 28
the institution, transfer of the newborn infant to another institution or 29
imminent death. If the newborn infant dies before a blood spot 30
specimen can be obtained, the specimen shall be collected as soon as 31
practicable after death. The institution licensed to care for newborn 32
infants, nurse-midwife or midwife shall notify the Department of 33
Public Health when a specimen is not collected within forty-eight 34
hours after the birth of such infant due to: (1) The infant's medical 35
fragility, (2) refusal by the parents when newborn infant screening is in 36
conflict with their religious tenets and practice, (3) the newborn infant 37
receiving comfort measures only, or (4) any other reason. Such 38
notification shall be documented in the department's newborn 39
screening system pursuant to section 19a-53 by the institution caring 40
for newborn infants, nurse-midwife or midwife or sent in writing to 41
the department not later than seventy-two hours after the birth of the 42
newborn infant. The institution caring for newborn infants, nurse-43
midwife or midwife shall send the blood spot specimen to the state 44
public health laboratory not later than twenty-four hours after the time 45
of collection. The department may request an additional blood spot 46
specimen if: (A) There was an early collection of the specimen, (B) the 47
specimen was collected following a transfusion of blood products, (C) 48
the specimen is unsatisfactory for testing, or (D) the department 49
determines that there is an abnormal result. The state public health 50
laboratory shall make and maintain a record of the date and time of its 51
receipt of each blood spot specimen and make such record available 52
for inspection by the institution caring for newborn infants, nurse-53 Substitute Bill No. 6821
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midwife or midwife that sent the blood spot specimen not later than 54
forty-eight hours after such institution, nurse-midwife or midwife 55
submits a request to inspect such record. 56
(c) The Commissioner of Public Health shall publish a list of all the 57
abnormal conditions for which the department screens newborns 58
under the newborn screening program, which shall include, but need 59
not be limited to, testing for amino acid disorders, including 60
phenylketonuria, organic acid disorders, fatty acid oxidation disorders, 61
including, but not limited to, long-chain 3-hydroxyacyl CoA 62
dehydrogenase (L-CHAD) and medium -chain acyl-CoA 63
dehydrogenase (MCAD), hypothyroidism, galactosemia, sickle cell 64
disease, maple syrup urine disease, homocystinuria, biotinidase 65
deficiency, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, severe combined 66
immunodeficiency disease, adrenoleukodystrophy, spinal muscular 67
atrophy and any other disorder included on the recommended 68
uniform screening panel pursuant to 42 USC 300b-10, as amended 69
from time to time, and as prescribed by the Commissioner of Public 70
Health. 71
(d) In addition to the testing requirements prescribed in subsection 72
(b) of this section, the administrative officer or other person in charge 73
of each institution caring for newborn infants shall cause to have 74
administered to [(1)] every such infant in its care a screening test for 75
[(A)] (1) cystic fibrosis, [and (B)] (2) critical congenital heart disease, 76
[(2) any newborn infant who fails a newborn hearing screening, as 77
described in section 19a-59, a screening test for] and (3) 78
cytomegalovirus. Such screening tests shall be administered as soon 79
after birth as is medically appropriate. 80
(e) (1) The clinical laboratory that completes the testing for cystic 81
fibrosis [,] shall report the number of newborn infants screened and the 82
results of such testing, not less than annually, to the Department of 83
Public Health into the newborn screening system pursuant to section 84
19a-53. The administrative officer or other person in charge of each 85
institution caring for newborn infants who performs the testing for 86 Substitute Bill No. 6821
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critical congenital heart disease shall enter the results of such test into 87
the newborn screening system pursuant to section 19a-53. 88
(2) The administrative officer or other person in charge of each 89
institution caring for newborn infants shall enter any case of 90
cytomegalovirus that is confirmed as a result of a screening test 91
administered pursuant to subdivision [(2)] (3) of subsection (d) of this 92
section to the Department of Public Health into the newborn screening 93
system pursuant to section 19a-53. The provisions of this subsection 94
shall apply regardless of the patient's insurance status or source of 95
payment, including self-pay status. 96
(f) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any infant whose 97
parents object to the test or treatment as being in conflict with their 98
religious tenets and practice. The commissioner shall adopt 99
regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to 100
implement the provisions of this section. 101
Sec. 2. (Effective from passage) Not later than January 1, 2024, the 102
Department of Public Health shall disseminate educational materials 103
regarding the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of cytomegalovirus 104
to (1) each gynecologist, obstetrician and pediatrician in the state for 105
provision by such health care providers to their pregnant and 106
postpartum patients, and (2) the Office of Early Childhood to 107
disseminate to child care centers, group child care homes and family 108
child care homes for provision by such centers and homes to the 109
parent or guardian of each newborn receiving care from the center or 110
home. 111
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2023 19a-55
Sec. 2 from passage New section
Substitute Bill No. 6821
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Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Section 1(e)(2), "subdivision (2)" was changed to "subdivision [(2)]
(3)" for accuracy.
PH Joint Favorable Subst.