TO: Healthcare Submitters and Providers
FROM: The Georgia Department of Public Health, Newborn Screening Program
RE: Newborn Screening Tests and Laboratory Analysis Fee Increase for FY 2017
Summary: During the 2016 legislative session HB751, Item 3052, to provide funds for therapies for children with congenital disorders was passed. On April 7, 2016, the Department of Public Health published a Notice of Proposed Rule Making to amend Department of Public Health Regulation 511-5-5-04, pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 31-2A-6 and § 31-12-6(f). As outlined in a memo sent out on July 1, 2016, The Georgia Department of Public Health, Newborn Screening Program proposed a fee increase from $50.00 to $63.00 to cover the Department’s actual cost associated with newborn screening. This fee increase will enable the Department to screen for Severe Combined Immunodeficiency, a new critical condition added to the newborn screening panel, as well as provide therapies for children with congenital disorders.
Steps to Final Adoption: The fee increase has been approved by DPH as outlined in a memo sent out on July 1, 2016. At their September 8, 2016, meeting the Department of Community Health (DCH) board voted for final adoption of a rate increase to reimburse Medicaid providers for the new fee amount. The next step in the approval process is for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide approval. Upon final approval from CMS and DCH, the fee increase will be universally adopted for newborn screening specimen collection in the state of Georgia. We will send a letter of notification, which will also include an effective date.
If you have additional questions, feel free to contact Judith Kerr, Interim Child Health Screening Program Manager at (404) 657-2878 or judith.kerr@dph.ga.gov.