Bipartisan bill to provide immediate Medicaid for newborns with positive screens advances from committee

A bipartisan bill to provide immediate temporary Medicaid coverage to newborns who test positive on newborn screening passed as amended in the Senate Human Services Committee and was returned to the Health and Human Services Committee for further consideration.

Sen. Jim Abeler described the measure, Senate File 1175, as a way to “facilitate prompt access to medical assistance” so infants receive urgent care while their full Medicaid applications are processed. The committee report said the bill allows immediate temporary Medicaid coverage for babies with positive newborn screening results, expediting reimbursement and access to medical services.

Committee materials cited data showing that between 2017 and 2023, 763 newborns were identified as having a heritable or congenital disorder that required urgent intervention. Sponsors described the bill as bipartisan, intended to remove an administrative gap that can delay care for newborns with urgent needs.

The bill passed in committee as amended and returned to the Health and Human Services Committee; no floor vote or final enactment was recorded in the reviewed segments.