HOUSE BILL No. 4584

 

 

May 4, 2017, Introduced by Reps. Vaupel, Sheppard, Canfield, Lucido, Faris and Runestad and referred to the Committee on Health Policy.

 

     A bill to amend 1978 PA 368, entitled

 

"Public health code,"

 

(MCL 333.1101 to 333.25211) by adding section 5822.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 5822. (1) Upon receipt of a positive prenatal or

 

postnatal test result or diagnosis of spina bifida, a health

 

facility or agency licensed under article 17 or a physician, health

 

care provider, nurse midwife, or genetic counselor that renders

 

prenatal care, postnatal care, or genetic counseling, shall give

 

the expectant or new parent the information provided by the

 

department and described in subsection (2).

 

     (2) The department shall make available to any person who

 

renders prenatal care, postnatal care, or genetic counseling to

 

parents who receive a prenatal or postnatal diagnosis of spina

 

bifida and to any person who has received a positive test result

from a test for spina bifida, all of the following:

 

     (a) Up-to-date, evidence-based, written information about

 

spina bifida that has been reviewed by medical experts and spina

 

bifida organizations, including information on physical,

 

developmental, educational, and psychosocial outcomes, life

 

expectancy, clinical course, intellectual and functional

 

development, and treatment options.

 

     (b) Contact information regarding support programs and

 

services that may be available to expectant and new parents of

 

children with spina bifida, including information hotlines specific

 

to spina bifida, resource centers or clearinghouses, and national

 

and local spina bifida organizations.

 

     (3) The department shall post links to credible sources of

 

educational materials on spina bifida, such as the National Spina

 

Bifida Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

 

and the March of Dimes, on the department's website.

 

     (4) As used in this section, "spina bifida" means a congenital

 

malformation of the bone in the vertebral column that exposes the

 

spinal cord, which is caused by incomplete closing of the embryonic

 

neural tube.

 

     Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days

 

after the date it is enacted into law.