96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010
SB3273

 

Introduced 2/9/2010, by Sen. Pamela J. Althoff

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
410 ILCS 225/8 new
410 ILCS 225/9 new

    Amends the Prenatal and Newborn Care Act. Provides that the Department of Public Health shall publish on its website certain specified information about the possible health complications associated with newborn infants who are born premature at less than 37 weeks gestational age and the proper care and support for these newborn infants. Provides that in determining what information is most beneficial to the public, the Department may consult with pediatric healthcare providers, community organizations, or other experts as the Department deems necessary. Provides that the Department shall ensure that the information is accessible to children's health providers, maternal care providers, hospitals, public health departments, and medical organizations. Requires the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services to consult with statewide organizations focused on premature infant healthcare in order to accomplish certain goals. Requires data regarding the incidence and cause of re-hospitalization in the first 6 months of life for infants born premature at earlier than 37 weeks gestational age to be reported to the Director of Public Health. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB3273 LRB096 19757 RPM 35188 b

1     AN ACT concerning health.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The Prenatal and Newborn Care Act is amended by
5 adding Sections 8 and 9 as follows:
 
6     (410 ILCS 225/8 new)
7     Sec. 8. Educational information on risks and healthcare
8 needs of premature infants.
9     (a) It is the purpose of this Section to:
10         (1) improve healthcare quality and outcomes for
11     infants born preterm through enhanced hospital discharge,
12     follow-up care, and management processes and reduced
13     rehospitalization from infectious disease and other
14     complications; and
15         (2) reduce infant morbidity and mortality associated
16     with prematurity.
17     (b) The General Assembly finds the following:
18         (1) Infants born premature at less than 37 weeks
19     gestational age have greater morbidity and mortality than
20     full-term infants.
21         (2) In 2006, 12.8% of all births in the United States
22     were premature, accounting for more than 542,000 infants.
23         (3) In Illinois, 1 in 8 babies were born premature in

 

 

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1     2006, or 13.3% of live births, accounting for 23,955
2     premature births.
3         (4) Between 1996 and 2006, the rate of infants born
4     premature in Illinois increased nearly 15%.
5         (5) The rate of premature birth in Illinois is highest
6     in African American infants, 19.3%, followed by Native
7     Americans, 15.6%, Hispanics, 12.1%, and Caucasians, 11.9%.
8         (6) Approximately 70% of premature births occur in the
9     late preterm period between 34 and 36 weeks of gestation,
10     and late-preterm babies have significant differences in
11     clinical outcomes than full-term infants, including
12     greater risk for temperature instability, hypoglycemia,
13     respiratory distress, and jaundice.
14         (7) In 2005, preterm birth cost the United States at
15     least $26.2 billion, or $51,600 for every infant born
16     prematurely.
17         (8) Medical costs for premature babies are greater than
18     they are for healthy newborns. In 2007, the average medical
19     costs for a preterm baby were more than 10 times as high as
20     they were for a healthy full-term baby. The costs for a
21     healthy baby from birth to his first birthday were $4,551.
22     For a pre-term baby, the costs were $49,033.
23         (9) The costs of premature birth in Illinois may be
24     significant because the State Medicaid Program paid for 40%
25     of all births in 2003.
26         (10) Premature infant standard of care practices of

 

 

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1     clinicians and hospitals may vary across the State,
2     particularly for late preterm births.
3     (c) The Department of Public Health shall publish on its
4 website information about the possible health complications
5 associated with newborn infants who are born premature at less
6 than 37 weeks gestational age and the proper care and support
7 for these newborn infants. The written information shall, at a
8 minimum, include the following:
9         (1) The unique health issues affecting infants born
10     premature, such as increased risk of developmental
11     problems; nutritional challenges; infection; chronic lung
12     disease (bronchopulmonary dysplasia); vision and hearing
13     impairment; breathing problems; feeding; maintaining body
14     temperature; jaundice; hyperactivity; infant mortality as
15     well as long-term complications associated with growth and
16     nutrition; respiratory problems; fine motor skills;
17     reading; and speaking.
18         (2) The proper care needs of premature infants,
19     developmental screenings, and monitoring and healthcare
20     services available to premature infants through the
21     Medicaid program or other public or private health
22     programs.
23         (3) Methods, vaccines, and other preventative measures
24     to protect premature infants from infectious diseases,
25     including viral respiratory infections.
26         (4) The emotional and financial burdens and other

 

 

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1     challenges that parents and family members of premature
2     infants experience and information about community
3     resources available to support them.
4     (d) The information shall be easily accessible and written
5 in clear language to educate parents of premature infants
6 across a variety of socioeconomic statuses.
7     (e) In determining what information is most beneficial to
8 the public, the Department may consult with pediatric
9 healthcare providers, community organizations, or other
10 experts as the Department deems necessary.
11     (f) The Department shall ensure that the information is
12 accessible to children's health providers, maternal care
13 providers, hospitals, public health departments, and medical
14 organizations. The Department shall encourage those
15 organizations to provide the publications to parents or
16 guardians of premature infants.
 
17     (410 ILCS 225/9 new)
18     Sec. 9. The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family
19 Services; consultation; data reporting.
20     (a) The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family
21 Services, which administers the Illinois Medicaid Program and
22 the Covering ALL KIDS Health Insurance Program, shall consult
23 with statewide organizations focused on premature infant
24 healthcare in order to:
25         (1) examine and improve hospital discharge and

 

 

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1     follow-up care procedures for premature infants born
2     earlier than 37 weeks gestational age to ensure
3     standardized and coordinated processes are followed as
4     premature infants leave the hospital from either a Level 1
5     (well baby nursery), Level 2 (step down or transitional
6     nursery), or Level 3 (neonatal intensive care unit) unit
7     and transition to follow-up care by a health care provider
8     in the community; and
9         (2) use guidance from the Centers for Medicare and
10     Medicaid Services' Neonatal Outcomes Improvement Project
11     to implement programs to improve newborn outcomes, reduce
12     newborn health costs, and establish ongoing quality
13     improvement for newborns.
14     (b) Data regarding the incidence and cause of
15 re-hospitalization in the first 6 months of life for infants
16 born premature at earlier than 37 weeks gestational age shall
17 be reported to the Director of Public Health utilizing the
18 mandated hospital discharge data system authorized in the
19 Illinois Health Finance Reform Act.
 
20     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
21 becoming law.