Legislation requiring every hospital in Maryland to screen newborns for signs of hearing problems passed the House of Delegates in Annapolis last night, virtually assuring the bill will be signed into law.

An identical measure won Senate approval last week.

Championed by a broad coalition of doctors, parents and educators, the bill attempts to make early hearing-impairment detection standard in Maryland. Limited screening that has been in place since 1985 fails to detect deafness roughly half of the time, state health officials say.

Babies who slip through undetected might go two or three years before their impairment is discovered, often after falling well behind their peers in language ability. Without early intervention, using such options as speech therapy and hearing implants, the toddlers are likely to miss crucial stages of early language development.

Most will never fully catch up, the bill's proponents say.

"People start to learn language from the moment of birth," said Sue Griebler, who chairs the state's advisory committee on hearing-loss detection. "When we find a baby to be deaf at two or three years of age, they've already missed those crucial years."

Efforts to pass the measure last year ran aground after lobbyists for the state's hospitals and insurance companies could not agree how to fund the tests.

But this year, lawmakers brokered an agreement under which insurance companies would cover the $30 screening costs, while hospitals would buy needed equipment.

State officials estimated that insurance premiums would rise, at most, by about 80 cents annually per policy.

Medicaid costs

They also predicted a $400,000 annual increase in state Medicaid costs.

With last year's detractors on board, the bill has moved swiftly through the General Assembly, clearing the House 135 to 0, and the Senate 46 to 0. Each house must sign off on the other's bill before the legislation goes to the governor.

"I think this is one of the best bills I've passed in my life," said Sen. Thomas L. Bromwell, the Baltimore County Democrat who sponsored it. "This bill speaks up for kids that need to be heard."

Del. Sheila E. Hixson, a Montgomery Democrat who sponsored the House version, said that once the bill becomes law, any child born in Maryland will be screened within 48 hours of birth. Those not born in the hospital can be taken to any of the state's 37 hospitals for testing, she said.

Two tests used

Two tests are used to detect hearing problems in infants. They are noninvasive, can be performed while the newborn is asleep, and last about 10 minutes.

The tests use different methods to determine if the brain responds to sounds.

Eight hospitals in the state conduct them on newborns. Others perform the tests only when the baby has a high risk of deafness, either because of family history or complications related to the birth.

Testimony of parents

Testifying at hearings last month were the parents of two children who had not been screened. They did not find out about their children's impairment until after they turned 2.

Both children had serious problems with language as a result, their parents said.

"It makes a tremendous difference," said Griebler, the parent of a profoundly deaf adult son. "These tests will let every parent provide the same opportunities for their children from Day One."

Pub Date: 3/23/99