18th ANNUAL EARLY HEARING DETECTION & INTERVENTION MEETING
March 3-5, 2019 • Chicago, IL
An Investigation of Insurance Coverage for Midwives Performing Newborn Hearing Screening
To increase newborn hearing screening among out-of-hospital births, the Washington State Department of Health Early Hearing Detection, Diagnosis, and Intervention (EHDDI) program provided training and hearing screening equipment to midwives and birthing centers across the state. As of 2018, 42 midwives and free-standing birthing centers screen infants for hearing loss. In 2017, almost 2000 infants born out-of-hospital received a hearing screen and three were identified as deaf or hard of hearing. However, little information is known about reimbursement for newborn hearing screenings when performed by out-of-hospital providers such as Licensed Midwives (LMs). To gather this information, we interviewed midwives or their medical billers to get information about their experiences with billing and reimbursement for newborn hearing screening. We also sent surveys to third party payers (health insurance companies in Washington State’s 2018 insurance pool) to inquire about their coverage policies for out-of-hospital hearing screenings (CPT codes: 92558, 92586, 92587, 92588). This poster will describe our overall findings and offer guidance on how this information can be used to educate midwives on reimbursement policies for newborn hearing screening. Compensation for out-of-hospital newborn hearing screening is important to keep the service sustainable and make screening more available to newborns across Washington State.
- Explain how Washington State supports licensed midwives to provide hearing screenings to infants born out-of-hospital.
- Describe health insurance coverage policies for newborn hearing screenings performed by licensed midwives.
- Identify ways to educate midwives on billing for newborn hearing screenings.
Poster:
18878_10420HaleyComfort.pdf
Presenter: Haley Comfort
Haley Comfort is a second year graduate student at the University of Washington, pursuing an MPH in Global Health: Health Metrics and Evaluation. She volunteers with the Washington State Department of Health EHDDI Program on a research project to assess insurance coverage for midwives performing newborn hearing screens.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Karin Neidt, MPH is the Section Manager for the Washington State Department of Health, Screening and Genetics Section. Karin received her Master of Public Health from the University of Washington and her bachelor’s degree in microbiology from Montana State University in Bozeman, MT.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
• Receives Salary for Employment from HRSA.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Ms. Doyle is the State Coordinator for Genetic Services and the manager of the Screening and Genetics Unit for the Washington State Department of Health. She is board certified by both the American Board of Medical Genetics and the American Board of Genetic Counseling. Ms. Doyle received her B.S. in genetics from the University of Washington and her M.S. in human genetics and genetic counseling from Sarah Lawrence College in New York. Before accepting her current position, she held positions at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Research Center, Jone's Institute for Reproductive Medicine, Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters, and Women and Infant's Hospital Prenatal Diagnosis Center. Ms. Doyle is a past President of the National Society of Genetic Counselors and is a founding member of the Coalition of State Genetics Coordinators.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
Marcie Rider, AuD, received her doctorate of audiology from the University of Washington. She is a follow-up coordinator for the Washington State Department of Health EHDDI program. She takes part in ensuring that babies who do not receive a hearing screen or do not pass a hearing screen receive appropriate follow-up series. She assists in coordinating care between hospital screening programs, primary care physicians and audiologists so children with hearing loss do not fall through the cracks but instead are provided with the advantages of early identification and intervention.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
• Receives Salary for Employment from Washington State Department of Health.
Nonfinancial -
• Has a Professional (Fellow membership)
relationship for Other volunteer activities.
Julie Walker, CHES, MPH, is the Washington State Early Hearing Detection, Diagnosis, and Intervention (EHDDI) Coordinator. Julie received her Master of Public Health from American Public University, and her bachelor’s degree in Community Health from Western Washington University.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -