To amend sections 3701.503, 3701.504, 3701.505, 3701.506, and 3701.507 and to enact sections 3701.508 and 3701.509 of the Revised Code to require universal hearing screening for newborns and infants.

Section 1.  That sections 3701.503, 3701.504, 3701.505, 3701.506, and 3701.507 be amended and sections 3701.508 and 3705.509 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 3701.503.  As used in sections 3701.504 to 3701.507 3701.509 of the Revised Code:

(A) "Parent" means either parent, unless the parents are separated or divorced or their marriage has been dissolved or annulled, in which case "parent" means the parent who is the residential parent and legal custodian.

(B) "Guardian" has the same meaning as in section 2111.01 of the Revised Code.

(C) "Custodian" means, except as used in division (A) of this section, a government agency or an individual, other than the parent or guardian, with legal or permanent custody of a child as defined in section 2151.011 of the Revised Code.

(D) "Address," in the case of an individual, means the individual's residence and, in the case of a government agency, means the office at which the records pertaining to a particular child newborn or infant are maintained.

(E) "Risk Hearing screening" means the identification of newborns and infants who are at risk of may have a hearing impairment, through the use of a high-risk questionnaire developed by the department of health under division (A) of section 3701.504 of the Revised Code a physiologic test performed under the direction of an audiologist or physician.

(F) "Hearing assessment evaluation" means evaluation through the use of audiological procedures by or under the supervision of an audiologist licensed under section 4753.07 of the Revised Code, or by a neurologist or otolaryngologist, to identify infants who are at risk of hearing impairment physician.

(G) "Hearing impairment" means a loss of hearing in one or both ears in the frequency region important for speech recognition and comprehension.

(H) "Newborn" means a child who is less than thirty days old.

(I) "Infant" means a child who is at least thirty days but less than twenty-four months old.

(J) "Freestanding birthing center" has the same meaning as in section 3702.51 of the Revised Code.

(K) "Physician" means an individual authorized under Chapter 4731. of the Revised Code to practice medicine and surgery or osteopathic medicine and surgery.

(L) "Audiologist" means an individual authorized under section 4753.07 of the Revised Code to practice audiology.

Sec. 3701.504.  (A) The department of health shall establish and maintain newborn infant hearing-impairment risk criteria and shall develop a high-risk questionnaire a statewide hearing screening, tracking, and early intervention program to identify infants who are at risk of newborn and infant hearing impairment. The department shall also establish appropriate protocols for the treatment and follow-up care of newborns and infants with hearing impairment.

(B) The public health council shall adopt rules under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code establishing a program to be administered by the department of health that requires risk (1) The program shall include a hearing screening of each infant or newborn born in a hospital nursery to determine if the infant meets the hearing-impairment risk criteria established by the department of health under division (A) of this section or freestanding birthing center before discharge, unless the infant or newborn is transferred to another hospital.

(2) If an infant or newborn is transferred to another hospital before a hearing screening is conducted, the program shall provide for a hearing screening of that infant or newborn when determined to be medically stable.

(3) In the case of a newborn not born in or admitted to a hospital from the hospital or center in which the newborn or infant was born, or freestanding birthing center, the program shall provide for a hearing screening before the newborn is thirty days old. The rules adopted under this division shall include a provision that no infant shall be required to undergo risk screening if the infant's parent, guardian, or custodian, if an individual, objects on the grounds that the screening conflicts with his religious tenets and practices.

(C) The public health council shall adopt, and may amend or rescind, rules to carry out the purposes of sections 3701.503 to 3701.507 of the Revised Code.

(B) The department of health shall ensure that the program established under this section is incorporated into early intervention activities of the department in compliance with the "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act," 20 U.S.C.A. 1400 et seq.

(C) The department of health shall administer the program established under this section pursuant to rules adopted under section 3701.508 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 3701.505.  (A)(1) Each hospital and each freestanding birthing center, in accordance with rules adopted by the public health council under section 3701.504 of the Revised Code, shall provide risk do all of the following:

(a) Conduct a hearing screening of on each newborn infants and shall promptly or infant born in the hospital or center unless the newborn or infant is transferred to another hospital;

(b) Conduct a hearing screening on each newborn or infant transferred to the hospital from the hospital or center in which the newborn or infant was born, if the newborn or infant was transferred before a hearing screening was conducted;

(c) Inform the parent, guardian, or custodian of the newborn or infant about the screening results and provide a written report of the screening results;

(d) Promptly notify an the newborn's or infant's primary care physician and of the screening results;

(e) Notify the department of health of the name of any infant who is identified by a risk screening as at risk for hearing impairment under the criteria established by the department of health under division (A) of section 3701.504 of the Revised Code, and of the name and address of the infant's parent, guardian, or custodian screening results for each newborn or infant screened.

(2) Not later than one year after the rules adopted by the public health council under section 3701.508 of the Revised Code take effect, each hospital and freestanding birthing center shall begin taking the actions required by division (A)(1) of this section in accordance with the rules. The hospital or freestanding birthing center shall continue to take the actions in accordance with the rules thereafter.

(B)(1) If an infant is identified as at risk for hearing impairment and the hospital at which the identification was made also provides hearing assessment, the hospital shall provide a hearing assessment for the infant; if the hospital does not provide hearing assessment or newborn does not pass the hearing screening, the hospital or freestanding birthing center shall provide the newborn's or infant's parent, guardian, or custodian with a list of hospitals, clinics, or other facilities located within a reasonable distance of the parent's, guardian's, or custodian's address that provide hearing assessment evaluations for newborns, infants, and toddlers.

(2) Each hospital that provides a hearing assessment shall prepare and provide to the infant's parent, guardian, or custodian a list of hospitals, clinics, or other facilities located within a reasonable distance of the parent's, guardian's, or custodian's address that provide follow-up hearing evaluations.

(3) Whenever a hearing assessment identifies an infant as being hearing impaired, the hospital, clinic, or other facility providing the assessment shall promptly notify the infant's primary care physician and the department of health of the infant's name and the name and address of the infant's parent, guardian, or custodian A hospital, clinic, or other facility performing the hearing evaluation on a newborn or infant shall report the results of the evaluation to the newborn's or infant's parent, guardian, or custodian, primary care physician, and the department of health.

(C) Any hospital, clinic, or other facility freestanding birthing center providing a hearing assessment screening in accordance with division (B)(A) of this section shall be reimbursed by the department of health at a rate determined by the director of health, if both of the following are the case:

(1) The assessment screening is performed before the newborn or infant attains nine months of age; is discharged from the hospital or freestanding birthing center, or in the case of a newborn not born in or admitted to a hospital or freestanding birthing center, before the newborn is thirty days old.

(2) The parent, guardian, or custodian is financially unable to pay for the hearing assessment screening and the hospital, clinic, or other facility freestanding birthing center is not reimbursed by a third-party payer as determined pursuant to rules adopted under section 3701.508 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 3701.506.  The department of health shall prepare and distribute to all hospitals and freestanding birthing centers required to provide infant risk hearing screenings under the program established under section 3701.504 of the Revised Code, information describing factors or conditions of hearing loss and the effect of such a loss on an infant or child's language development, and information on the importance of hearing screening, hearing evaluation, early intervention, and follow-up care for newborns and infants. This information shall be updated as the department determines necessary. Upon the discharge of an at-risk newborn infant, each such

Each hospital or freestanding birthing center shall provide the infant's parent, guardian, or custodian of each newborn or infant born in the hospital or freestanding birthing center with this hearing loss the information prepared by the department pursuant to this section.

Sec. 3701.507.  (A) To assist in implementing sections 3701.503 to 3701.507 3701.509 of the Revised Code, the medically handicapped children's medical advisory council created in section 3701.025 of the Revised Code shall appoint a permanent infant hearing screening subcommittee. The subcommittee shall consist of the following members:

(1) One otolaryngologist;

(2) One neonatologist;

(3) One pediatrician;

(4) One neurologist;

(5) One hospital administrator;

(6) One Two or more audiologists licensed under section 4753.07 of the Revised Code who are experienced in infant hearing assessment screening and evaluation;

(7) One speech speech-language pathologist licensed under section 4753.07 of the Revised Code;

(8) One Two persons who are each a parent of a hearing-impaired child;

(9) One geneticist;

(10) One epidemiologist;

(11) One adult who is deaf or hearing impaired;

(12) One representative from an organization for the deaf or hearing impaired;

(13) One family advocate;

(14) One nurse from a well-baby neonatal nursery;

(15) One nurse from a special care neonatal nursery;

(16) One teacher of the deaf who works with infants and toddlers;

(17) One representative of the health insurance industry;

(18) One representative of the bureau for children with medical handicaps;

(19) One representative of the department of education;

(20) One representative of the Ohio department of job and family services who has responsibilities regarding medicaid;

(21) Any other person the advisory council appoints.

(B) The infant hearing subcommittee shall:

(1) Consult with the director of health regarding the administration of sections 3701.503 to 3701.507 3701.509 of the Revised Code;

(2) Advise and make recommendations regarding proposed rules prior to their adoption by the public health council under section 3701.504 3701.508 of the Revised Code;

(3) Consult with the director of health and advise and make recommendations regarding program development and implementation under sections 3701.503 to 3701.507 3701.509 of the Revised Code, including establishment of newborn infant hearing-impairment risk criteria and development of the high-risk questionnaire under division (A) of all of the following:

(a) Establishment under section 3701.504 of the Revised Code of the statewide hearing screening, tracking, and early intervention program to identify newborn hearing impairment; identification

(b) Identification of locations where assessment of infants hearing evaluations may be conducted; recommendations

(c) Recommendations for methods and techniques of risk hearing screening and hearing assessment evaluation; referral

(d) Referral, data recording and compilation, and procedures to encourage follow-up hearing assessments care; maintenance

(e) Maintenance of a register of newborns and infants determined to be at high risk for hearing impairment who do not pass the hearing screening; and preparation

(f) Preparation of the information required by section 3701.506 of the Revised Code and any other information the public health council requires the department of health to provide.

(4) Ensure that the infant hearing screening and assessment program established under sections 3701.503 to 3701.507 of the Revised Code is incorporated into early intervention activities of the department of health in compliance with the "Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1986," 100 Stat. 1145, 20 U.S.C.A. 1400.

Sec. 3701.508. (A) The public health council shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code governing the statewide hearing screening, tracking, and early intervention program established under section 3701.504 of the Revised Code, including rules that do all of the following:

(1) Specify how hospitals and freestanding birthing centers are to comply with the requirements of section 3701.505 of the Revised Code, including methods and devices to be used for hearing screening.

(2) Provide that no infant or newborn shall be required to undergo a hearing screening if the parent, guardian, or custodian of the infant or newborn objects on the grounds that the screening conflicts with the parent's, guardian's, or custodian's religious tenets and practices;

(3) Specify how the department of health will determine whether a person is financially unable to pay for a hearing screening and define "third-party payer" for the purpose of reimbursement of hearing screening by the department under section 3701.505 of the Revised Code.

(4) Specify any additional information that hospitals and freestanding birthing centers are to provide to the medically handicapped children's medical advisory council's infant hearing screening subcommittee under section 3701.509 of the Revised Code.

(B) The rules shall be adopted so as to take effect not later than six months after the effective date of this section.

Sec. 3701.509.  (A) Not later than the first day of each November, each hospital and freestanding birthing center that has conducted a hearing screening required by section 3701.505 of the Revised Code shall provide to the department of health for use by the medically handicapped children's medical advisory council's infant hearing screening subcommittee information specifying all of the following for the preceding year:

(1) The number of newborns born in the hospital or freestanding birthing center;

(2) The number and percentage of newborns and infants born in the hospital or freestanding birthing center who received a hearing screening;

(3) The number of newborns and infants born in the hospital or freestanding birthing center whose parents, guardians, or custodians received the information described in section 3701.506 of the Revised Code;

(4) The number and percentage of newborns and infants born in the hospital or freestanding birthing center who did not pass the hearing screening;

(5) The number and percentage of newborns and infants born in the hospital or freestanding birthing facility whose parent, guardian, or custodian was provided with a copy of the list described in division (B)(1) of section 3701.505 of the Revised Code;

(6) Any other information concerning the program established under section 3701.504 of the Revised Code.

(B) The infant hearing screening subcommittee, with the support of the department of health, shall compile and summarize the information submitted to the subcommittee by hospitals and freestanding birthing centers under division (A) of this section and, beginning with the first year after this section becomes effective, annually prepare and transmit a report to the director of health, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the president of the senate. The council shall make the report available to the public.

Section 2.  That existing sections 3701.503, 3701.504, 3701.505, 3701.506, and 3701.507 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.