HB2661eng 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB2661 Engrossed LRB098 09098 RPM 39235 b

AN ACT concerning health facilities.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Alternative Health Care Delivery Act is amended by adding Section 85 as follows:

(210 ILCS 3/85 new)

Sec. 85. Newborn screening; critical congenital heart defects.

(a) The General Assembly finds as follows:

(1) Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are structural abnormalities of the heart that are present at birth. CHDs range in severity from simple problems such as holes between chambers of the heart to severe malformations, such as the complete absence of one or more chambers or valves. Some critical CHDs can cause severe and life-threatening symptoms that require intervention within the first days of life.

(2) According to the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services' Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children, congenital heart disease affects approximately 7 to 9 of every 1,000 live births in the United States and Europe. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that CHD is the leading cause of infant death due to birth defects.

(3) Current methods for detecting CHDs generally include prenatal ultrasound screening and repeated clinical examinations. While prenatal ultrasound screenings can detect some major congenital heart defects, these screenings, alone, identify less than half of all CHD cases, and critical CHD cases are often missed during routine clinical exams performed prior to a newborn's discharge from a birthing facility.

(4) Pulse oximetry is a non-invasive test that estimates the percentage of hemoglobin in blood that is saturated with oxygen. When performed on a newborn within a minimum of 24 hours after birth, pulse oximetry screening is often more effective at detecting critical, life-threatening CHDs that otherwise go undetected by current screening methods. Newborns with abnormal pulse oximetry results require immediate confirmatory testing and intervention.

(5) Many newborn lives could potentially be saved by earlier detection and treatment of CHDs if birthing facilities in the State were required to perform this simple, non-invasive newborn screening in conjunction with current CHD screening methods.

(b) All birth centers must test every newborn for critical congenital heart defects via a screening test in line with the current standard of care, such as pulse oximetry screening, according to critical congenital heart defect screening protocols developed by the Department of Public Health in consultation with relevant medical practitioners and stakeholders.

(c) Exceptions to mandatory critical congenital heart defect screenings shall be limited to cases in which the parents object to the screening, or as directed by the critical congenital heart defect screening protocol.

Section 10. The Hospital Licensing Act is amended by adding Section 17 as follows:

(210 ILCS 85/17 new)

Sec. 17. Newborn screening; critical congenital heart defects.

(a) The General Assembly finds as follows:

(1) Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are structural abnormalities of the heart that are present at birth. CHDs range in severity from simple problems such as holes between chambers of the heart to severe malformations, such as the complete absence of one or more chambers or valves. Some critical CHDs can cause severe and life-threatening symptoms that require intervention within the first days of life.

(2) According to the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services' Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children, congenital heart disease affects approximately 7 to 9 of every 1,000 live births in the United States and Europe. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that CHD is the leading cause of infant death due to birth defects.

(3) Current methods for detecting CHDs generally include prenatal ultrasound screening and repeated clinical examinations. While prenatal ultrasound screenings can detect some major congenital heart defects, these screenings, alone, identify less than half of all CHD cases, and critical CHD cases are often missed during routine clinical exams performed prior to a newborn's discharge from a birthing facility.

(4) Pulse oximetry is a non-invasive test that estimates the percentage of hemoglobin in blood that is saturated with oxygen. When performed on a newborn within a minimum of 24 hours after birth, pulse oximetry screening is often more effective at detecting critical, life-threatening CHDs that otherwise go undetected by current screening methods. Newborns with abnormal pulse oximetry results require immediate confirmatory testing and intervention.

(5) Many newborn lives could potentially be saved by earlier detection and treatment of CHDs if birthing facilities in the State were required to perform this simple, non-invasive newborn screening in conjunction with current CHD screening methods.

(b) All birthing hospitals must test every newborn for critical congenital heart defects via a screening test in line with the current standard of care, such as pulse oximetry screening, according to critical congenital heart defect screening protocols developed by the Department of Public Health in consultation with relevant medical practitioners and stakeholders.

(c) Exceptions to mandatory critical congenital heart defect screenings shall be limited to cases in which the parents object to the screening, or as directed by the critical congenital heart defect screening protocol.