Mandated Benefits Review - Senate Bill 938 - Submissions

The Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania (John R. Doubman, Secretary & Counsel)

  1. Letter dated August 21, 1998, addressing section 9 requirements and opposing Senate Bill 938.
  2. White KR, Mauk GW, Culpepper NB, Weirather Y. In Press, Universal Newborn Hearing Screening. Lynn Spivak, Editor. Pages 225-255.
  3. Letter dated September 14, 1998, supplementing original submission on Senate Bill 938.

The Managed Care Association of Pennsylvania (Kimberly J. Kockler, Executive Director)

  1. Letter dated August 17, 1998, addressing section 9 requirements and opposing Senate Bill 938.
  2. Sheils JF, Vice-President of the Lewin Group. Letter to the American Association of Health Plans. November 17, 1997.
  3. Schriver ML, Arnett GM. "What States Can Teach Congress About Health Care Regulation." Backgrounder. The Heritage Foundation. No. 1207. July 24, 1998.
  4. Pennsylvania Department of Health. "Resident Deaths, Live Births, Fetal, Infant, Neonatal, and Maternal Deaths: Pennsylvania, 1950-1996." Pennsylvania Vital Statistics 1996. Page 95.
  5. American Academy of Pediatrics and The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Guidelines for Perinatal Care. Fourth Edition. August 1997. Pages 160-173.

Highmark (Bruce R. Hironimus, Vice President, Government Affairs)

  1. Cover letter dated August 20, 1998, opposing Senate Bill 938.
  2. "Submission to the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council: Newborn Hearing Screening Mandate. Senate Bill 938. August 20, 1998."
  3. Horn KL, McDaniel SL, Olguin M "Universal Newborn Hearing Screening." Editorial. The American Journal of Otology. 1997. Vol. 18. Page 539.
  4. Weirather YP, Korth N, White KR, Down D, Woods-Kershner N. "Cost Analysis of Teoae-Based Universal Newborn Hearing Screening." J. Commun. Disord. 1997. Vol. 30. Pages 477-493
  5. "Early Identification of Hearing Impairment in Infants and Young Children." NIH Consensus Statement. 1993. March 1-3. Vol. 11. No. 1.
  6. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. "Screening for Hearing Impairment." Guide to Clinical Preventive Services: Report of the U.S. Task Force. 2nd Edition. Baltimore: Williams & Williams. 1996 Pages 393-405.
  7. Rundle RL. "Essential or Not, Push Is On to Check Infants For Hearing Problems." Wall Street Journal. April 8, 1998.
  8. Cameron TH. "Epidemiologic Issues in Audiology: Impact on Professional Training and Service Delivery." J. Commun. Disord. 1997. Vol. 30. Pages 285-301.
  9. Salamy A, Eldredge L, Sweetow R. "Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions: Feasibility in the Nursery." Ear & Hearing. 1996. Vol. 17. No. 1. Pages 42-48.
  10. Kountakis SE, Psifidis A, Chang CJ, Stiernberg CM. "Risk Factors Associated With Hearing Loss in Neonates." American Journal of Otolaryngology. 1997. Vol. 18. No. 2. Pages 90-93.
  11. Ng J, Yun HL. "Otocoustic Emissions (OAE) In Paediatric Hearing Screening - The Singapore Experience." The Journal of the Singapore Paediatric Society. Vols. 34. Nos. 1 & 2. Pages 1-5.
  12. Tucker SM, Bhattacharya J. "Screening of hearing impairment in the newborn using the auditory response cradle." Archives of Disease in Childhood. 1992. Vol. 67. Pages 911-919.
  13. Bess FH, Paradise JL. "Universal Screening for Infant Hearing Impairment: Not Simple, Not Risk-Free, Not Necessarily Beneficial, and not Presently Justified." Pediatrics. 1994. Pages 330-334.
  14. Prescott CAJ. "Should routine screening of neonates for deafness be introduced in South Africa?" South African Medical Journal. Editorial.
  15. Robertson C, Aldridge S, Jarman F, Saunders K, Poulakis Z, Oberklaid F. "Late diagnosis of congenital sensorineural hearing impairment: why are detection methods failing?" Archives of Disease in Childhood. 1995. Vol. 72. Pages 11-15.
  16. Jacobson JT, Jacobson CA. "The effects of noise in transient EOAE newborn hearing screening." International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology. 1994. Vol. 29. Pages 235-248.
  17. Bluestone CD. "Universal newborn screening for hearing loss: Ideal vs. reality and the role of otolaryngologists." Head and Neck Surgery. 1996. Vol. 115. No. 1. Pages 89-93.
  18. Abrams MJ, Pensak ML, Buhrer K. "Perspectives on a State Enacted Hearing Screening and Assessment Program in the Newborn Population." The American Journal of Otology.1997. Vol. 18. Pages 368-372.
  19. Diefendorf AO, Renshaw JJ, Cox JB, Reitz PS. "Infant Hearing Screening." ENT Journal. 1992. Vol. 71. No. 10. Pages 503-507.
  20. Holt J, Hotto S. "Demographic Aspects of Hearing Impairment: Questions and Answers." Third Edition, 1994. From the website http://www.gallaudet.edu/~cadsweb/factshee.html.
  21. Johnson JL, Kuntz NL, Sia CCJ, White KR, Johnson RL. "Newborn Hearing Screening in Hawaii." Hawaii Medical Journal. 1997. Vol. 56. Pages 352-355.
  22. Carney AE. "Early Intervention And Management Of The Infant With Hearing Loss: What's Science Got To Do With It?" Seminars in Hearing. 1996. Vol. 17. No. 2. Pages 185-195.
  23. Curnock DA. "Identifying hearing impairment in infants and young children." British Medical Journal. 1993.
  24. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. "Screening for Hearing Impairment." From the website http://aepo-xdv-www.epo.cdc.gov/wonder/prevguid/p0000109/entire.htm.
  25. Goldberg B. "Universal Hearing Screening of Newborns." ASHA. June/July 1993. Pages 63-64.
  26. Ruppert ES, Buhrer K. "Ohio's Infant Hearing Screening and Assessment Program." Clinical Pediatrics. January 1992. Pages 19-22.

American Academy of Pediatrics (Bradley J, Bradford, MD, President of the Pennsylvania Chapter)

  1. Letter dated August 20, 1998, addressing newborn hearing screening.

Pennsylvania Speech-Language and Hearing Association (Richard J. Gmerek and Elvira O. Guida of the Law Offices of Maley, Williamson, Hayden & Gmerek)

  1. Cover letter dated August 21, 1998.
  2. "Statement of PSHA Regarding the Health Care Cost Containment Council's Review of Senate Bill 938."
  3. "Early Identification of Hearing Impairment in Infants and Young Children." NIH Consensus Statement. Online. 1993. March 1-3.
  4. "Joint Committee on Infant Hearing 1994 Position Statement."
  5. American Academy of Audiologists. "Early Identification of Hearing Loss in Infants and Children." Position Statement.
  6. Cundall J. "Universal Newborn Hearing Screening in Tennessee." Tennessee Medicine. September 1997. Pages 370-371.
  7. "Comments of the National Association of the Deaf In the Matter Of: Early Hearing Detection and intervention as presented as the teleconference of the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Ad Hoc Group of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on September 2, 1997." From the website http://www.colorado.edu/slhs/mdnc/nad.html.
  8. "Hospitals in USA Reported to Have Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS) Programs (i.e., screening at least 90% of births/admissions as of July 1, 1997)." From the website http://www.usu.edu/%7Encham/programs_in_us.html.
  9. Uhlman M. "Can baby hear." Philadelphia Inquirer. June 5, 1998. Section F.
  10. Mason JA. Herrmann KR. "Universal Infant Hearing Screening by Automated Auditory Brainstem Response Measurement." Pediatrics. 1998. Vol. 101. No. 2. Pages 221-228.
  11. "Healthy People 2000. Conference Edition." U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Service. Pages 460-461.
  12. Meister S. "The Problem: Lack of Screening Programs for 'Normal' Newborns." QRC Advisor. December 1993. Vol. 10. No. 2.
  13. Barsky-Firkser L, Sun S. "Universal Newborn Hearing Screening: A Three-Year Experience." Pediatrics. 1997. Vol. 99. No. 6. From the website http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/99/6/e4.
  14. Mauk GW, White KR. "Giving Children a Sound Beginning: The Promise of Universal Newborn Hearing Screening." The Volta Review. 1995. Vol. 97. Pages 5-32.
  15. Mehl AL, Thomson V. "Newborn Hearing Screening: The Great Omission." Pediatrics. 1998. Vol. 101. No. 1. From the website http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/101/1/e4.
  16. Johnson JL, Kuntz NL, Sia CCJ, White KR, Johnson RL. "Newborn Hearing Screening in Hawaii." Hawaii Medical Journal. 1997. Vol. 56. Pages 352-355.
  17. Maxon AB, White KR, Behrens TR, Vohr BR. "Referral Rates and Cost Efficiency in a Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Program Using Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions." J Am Acad Audio. 1995. Vol. 6. Pages 271-277.
  18. Bello J. "Communication Facts: 1995 Edition." American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
  19. Crawford H. "Bold Move." ADVANCE for Speech-Language Pathologists & Audiologists. March 2, 1998. Pages 13-14.
  20. "Serious Hearing Impairment Among Children Aged 3-10 Years - Atlanta, Georgia, 1991-1993." Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 1997. Vol. 46. No. 45.
  21. Huynh MT, Pollack RA, Cunningham RAJ. "Universal Newborn Hearing Screening: Feasibility in a Community Hospital." The Journal of Family Practice. 1996. Vol. 42. No. 5. Pages 487-490.
  22. Downs MP. "Benefits of Screening at Birth: Economic, Educational, and Functional Factors." In Program and Abstracts of the NIH Consensus Development Conference: Early Identification of Hearing Impairment in Infants and Young Children. 1993.
  23. Yoshinaga-Itano C. "Factors Predictive of Successful Outcome of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children of Hearing Parents."
  24. Ryan M. "A Simple Test To Make Sure Baby Can Hear." Parade Magazine. July 20, 1997. Page 14.
  25. Rundle RL. "Essential or Not, Push Is On to Check Infants For Hearing Problems." Wall Street Journal. April 8, 1998.
  26. National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management. "Selecting Equipment." From the website http://www.usu.edu/%Encham/publications/equipment.html.
  27. Iskowitz M. "Inner-City Success." ADVANCE for Speech-Language Pathologists & Audiologists. March 2, 1998. Pages 15-16.
  28. Weirather YP, Korth N, White KR, Down D, Woods-Kershner N. "Cost Analysis of Teoae-Based Universal Newborn Hearing Screening." J. Commun. Disord. 1997. Vol. 30. Pages 477-493.
  29. Letter dated September 25, 1998, addressing submissions for Senate Bill 938.
  30. Downs MP. "Universal newborn hearing screening - The Colorado story." International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology. 1995. Vol. 32. Pages 257-259.
  31. White KR, Maxon AB. "Universal screening for infant hearing impairment: simple, beneficial, and presently justified." International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology. 1995. Vol. 32. Pages 201-211.

National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management at Utah State University (Karl R White, Ph.D., Director)

  1. Letter dated August 18, 1998, addressing section 9 requirements and supporting Senate Bill 938.
  2. "Universal Newborn Hearing Screening: Issues and Evidence."

National Organization for Hearing Research (Geraldine Dietz Fox, President)

  1. Letter dated August 20, 1998, supporting universal newborn hearing screening.
  2. "Answers to: Question/Issues for Discussion from the Pennsylvania Department of Health Regarding a Newborn Hearing Screening Workgroup Meeting held in Harrisburg in Spring, 1998."
  3. Rundle RL. "Essential or Not, Push Is On to Check Infants For Hearing Problems." Wall Street Journal. April 8, 1998.
  4. Johnson JL, Mauk GW, Takekawa KM, Simon PR, Sia CCJ, Blackwell PM. "Implementing a Statewide System of Services for Infants and Toddlers with Hearing Disabilities." Seminars in Hearing. 1993. Vol. 14. No. 1. Pages 105-119.
  5. Johnson JL, Kuntz NL, Sia CCJ, White KR, Johnson RL. "Newborn Hearing Screening in Hawaii." Hawaii Medical Journal. 1997. Vol. 56. Pages 352-355.

Robert C. Cicco, M.D. (President of the Pittsburgh Pediatric Society)

  1. Letter dated August 19, 1998, opposing Senate Bill 938 on behalf of the Pittsburgh Pediatric Society board of directors.

Jack L. Paradise, M.D. (Professor of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh)

  1. Letter dated August 20, 1998, opposing universal newborn hearing screening.
  2. Mason JA. Herrmann KR. "Universal Infant Hearing Screening by Automated Auditory Brainstem Response Measurement." Pediatrics. 1998. Vol. 101. No. 2. Pages 221-228.
  3. Mehl AL, Thomson V. "Newborn Hearing Screening: The Great Omission." Pediatrics. 1998. Vol. 101. No. 1. From the website http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/101/1/e4.
  4. Tharpe AM, Clayton EW. "Newborn Hearing Screening: Issues in Legal Liability and Quality Assurance." American Journal of Audiology. 1997. Vol. 6. No. 2. Pages 5-12.
  5. Bess FH, Paradise JL. "Universal Screening for Infant Hearing Impairment: Not Simple, Not Risk-Free, Not Necessarily Beneficial, and not Presently Justified." Pediatrics. 1994. Pages 330-334.
  6. "Letters to the Editor." Pediatrics.
  7. Letter to Ms. Jana Burdge of the Pennsylvania Department of Health concerning universal newborn hearing screening.
  8. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. "Screening for Hearing Impairment." Guide to Clinical Preventive Services: Report of the U.S. Task Force. 2nd Edition. Baltimore: Williams & Williams. 1996 Pages 393-405.

Christina Seaborg (Director of Audiology, Penn State Geisinger - Great Valley)

  1. Memo dated August 19, 1998, supporting universal newborn hearing screening.

Diane L. Sabo, Ph.D.(Clinical Director of Audiology, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh)

  1. Memo dated August 20, 1998, supporting universal newborn hearing screening.
  2. National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management. "Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Fact Sheet."
  3. Mehl AL, Thomson V. "Newborn Hearing Screening: The Great Omission." Pediatrics. 1998. Vol. 101. No. 1. From the website http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/101/1/e4.

Eric S. Cahill, M.S. CFY-A (Audiologist & Program Coordinator, Universal Newborn Hearing Screening, Temple University School of Medicine)

  1. Letter dated August 20, 1998, supporting Senate Bill 938.

Louis R. Sieminski, Ph.D.

  1. Letter dated August 21, 1998, supporting universal newborn hearing screening.
  2. Ryan M. "A Simple Test To Make Sure Baby Can Hear." Parade Magazine. July 20, 1997. Page 14.
  3. Nemes J. "Universal newborn hearing screening: The question is, not if, but when?" The Hearing Journal. 1998. Vol. 51. No. 7.
  4. Iskowitz M. "New Initiatives in Infant Screening." ADVANCE for Speech-Language Pathologists & Audiologists. March 2, 1998. Pages 6-12.

State Interagency Coordinating Council ad Hoc Committee on Universal Hearing Screening (Sheila Coyne, Co-Chair, and Irene B. Merenda, Secretary)

  1. Letter dated July 27, 1998, supporting universal newborn hearing screening.
  2. "Universal Hearing Screening for Infants."
  3. Nemes J. "Universal newborn hearing screening: The question is, not if, but when?" The Hearing Journal. 1998. Vol. 51. No. 7.
  4. "Guidelines for Audiologic Screening." American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Panel on Audiologic Assessment. 1997. Pages 23-28.
  5. American Academy of Audiology. "Early Identification of Hearing Loss in Infants and Children." Position Statement.
  6. "Joint Committee on Infant Hearing 1994 Position Statement."
  7. "Early Identification of Hearing Impairment in Infants and Young Children." NIH Consensus Statement. 1993. March 1-3.
  8. American Academy of Pediatrics. "Joint Committee on Infant Hearing 1994 Position Statement." Pediatrics. 1995. Vol. 95.
  9. "Healthy People 2000. Conference Edition." U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Public health Service.
  10. Mauk GW, White KR. "Giving Children a Sound Beginning: The Promise of Universal Newborn Hearing Screening." The Volta Review. 1995. Vol. 97. Pages 5-23.
  11. Letter dated September 23, 1998, addressing submissions for Senate Bill 938.
  12. Apuzzo ML, Yoshinga-Itano C. "Early Identification Of Infants With Significant Hearing Loss And The Minnesota Child Development Inventory." Seminars in Hearing. 1995. Vol. 16. No. 2. Pages 124-139.

AFLAC - The American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus (Richard Gmerek and Elvira O. Guida of the Law Offices of Maley, Williamson, Hayden & Gmerek)

  1. "Statement of AFLAC® Regarding the Health Care Cost Containment Council's Review of Senate Bill 938."

Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island

  1. "Sound Beginnings RIHAP."
  2. "Rhode Island Hearing Assessment Program."

Independent Insurance Agents of Pennsylvania (Vince Phillips, Vice President for Government Affairs)

  1. Letter dated July 16, 1998, concerning the impact mandates have on small business and the possible correlation between additional mandates and large employers becoming self-insured.

Michael S. Imbrogno, M.D., F.A.A.P.

  1. Letter dated September 21, 1998, supporting universal newborn screening and discussing screening protocol.

Gilbert R. Herer, Ph.D., CCC-A/SLP (Chair, Department of Hearing and Speech, children's National Medical Center)

  1. Letter dated September 17, 1998, addressing submissions for Senate Bill 938.
  2. "Hear It Now." Newsletter of the Children's Hearing and Speech Center. October 1997.
  3. Letter from Kathleen M. Hanyob addressed to Dr. Herrer. (distributed with permission.)
  4. "Newborns Now Screened for Hearing Loss." Side by Side. Holy Cross Hospital. Summer 1997.
  5. "Newborns Hearing Screening Program." Pamphlet from Holy Cross Hospital.
  6. "Early Identification of Hearing Impairment in Infants and Young Children." NIH Consensus Statement. 1993. March 1-3. Vol. 11. No. 1.

Bret S. Yarczower, M.D.

  1. Letter dated September 28, 1998, addressing submissions for Senate Bill 938.

Pennsylvania Academy of Audiology (Christina Seaborg, MA and Louis R. Sieminski, Ph.D.)

  1. Letter dated September, 1998, addressing submissions for Senate Bill 938.
  2. Meister S. "The Problem: Lack of Screening Programs for 'Normal' Newborns." QRC Advisor. December 1993. Vol. 10. No. 2.