Congress Sends Newborn Hearing Screening Bill to President’s Desk

UPDATE: On December 20, 2022, President Biden signed the bill into law.

The House and Senate have passed the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Act (S. 4052) and sent the bill to President Biden to sign into law.

Over the past two years, ASHA has advocated for legislation that reauthorizes support for state-based hearing screening efforts under the EHDI program (which was set to expire at the end of 2022), and addresses disparities in pediatric hearing health care. ASHA is pleased that Congress was able to pass this critical legislation before year’s end and commends the leadership of Representatives Brett Guthrie (R-KY) and Doris Matsui (D-CA), and Senators Rob Portman (R-OH), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), and Bill Cassidy (R-LA).

Specifically, the bill

1. authorizes federal funding for state-based newborn hearing screening initiatives for another five years, including
   • $17.8 million in annual funding for Health Resources and Services Administration grants to provide resources and support for state programs
   • $10.7 million in annual funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide technical surveillance and assistance to ensure the success of state programs
2. requires the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study—which ASHA proposed—assessing program performance and efforts to ensure that newborns, infants, and young children have access to timely hearing screenings and early interventions, particularly for medically underserved populations, including historically racial and ethnic minorities.

Background

EHDI programs are designed to facilitate newborn hearing screening and diagnosis and connect families of children with hearing loss with early intervention services. The programs have successfully reached near universal hearing screenings for newborns but need improvement to ensure timely access to diagnosis and follow-up intervention services.

ASHA will continue to advocate for robust federal support for EHDI programs through the annual congressional appropriations process.

Questions?

Contact Josh Krantz, ASHA’s director of federal affairs, health care, at jkrantz@asha.org.