minnesota newborn screening program

Card Fee Increase and 2011 Expiration Date

Newborn Screening Card Fee Increase

Governor Pawlenty and the legislature have joined together with medical professionals and parents across Minnesota in acknowledging the important role newborn screening plays in protecting the lives and health of children in our state. Legislation passed last year endorsed the collaboration between health care professionals caring for newborns and the Minnesota Department of Health in providing screening, treatment, and follow-up for 54 serious disorders.

All expenses of the Newborn Screening Program must be covered by the fee charged participants. By law the fee is collected at the time newborn screening cards are sold to hospitals and clinics. Legislation signed by the governor went into effect on July 1, 2010 that raised the fee for newborn screening to $106.

Newborn Screening Card Expiration Date

Newborn screening cards are now regulated by the FDA as medical devices. Because of FDA regulations, the cards are now printed with expiration dates. Many of the cards now in circulation will expire in February of 2011. Blood collected on those cards on or after March 1st of next year will not be accepted for analysis.

The expiration date on the cards will require some changes in your policies. Staff members who enter demographic information on cards and those who collect newborn screening specimens will need to look at the expiration date before using the card. The expiration date is printed on the upper right hand corner of the cards with an hourglass symbol next to it.

We recommend that you review how you manage your inventory of cards. You should always have enough cards on hand to cover up-coming births. However, as with many of your supplies you do not want to have extra expired inventory on hand. We suggest you start by making an accurate count of the number of cards already in house. Some may be older and have no expiration date. They can be used indefinitely because they were printed before FDA regulations were applicable. Tally the number of cards on hand that will expire at the end of February. Make sure staff uses these cards with expiration dates.

While these billing and card management changes may seem challenging, we are available to provide support so your staff can continue to do an excellent job in making sure all Minnesota babies have access to the benefits of newborn screening. Between now and next February we will send you more specific information to help you manage your card inventory.

Updated Friday, 03-Dec-2010 18:22:05 CST