38.2-3411.4 - Coverage for infant hearing screening and related diagnostics.
§ 38.2-3411.4. Coverage for infant hearing screening and related diagnostics.
A. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 38.2-3419, each insurer proposing toissue individual or group accident and sickness insurance policies providinghospital, medical and surgical, or major medical coverage on anexpense-incurred basis; each corporation providing individual or groupaccident and sickness subscription contracts; and each health maintenanceorganization providing a health care plan for health care services shallprovide coverage for infant hearing screenings and all necessary audiologicalexaminations provided pursuant to § 32.1-64.1 and as prescribed herein fornewborn children under each such policy, contract or plan delivered, issuedfor delivery or renewed in this Commonwealth on and after July 1, 2001.
B. For purposes of this section, such coverage shall provide coverage forinfant hearing screenings and all necessary audiological examinationsprovided pursuant to § 32.1-64.1 using any technology approved by the UnitedStates Food and Drug Administration, and as recommended by the national JointCommittee on Infant Hearing in its most current position statement addressingearly hearing detection and intervention programs. Such coverage shallinclude benefits for any follow-up audiological examinations as recommendedby a physician or audiologist and performed by a licensed audiologist toconfirm the existence or absence of hearing loss.
C. Nothing contained in this section shall abrogate any obligation to providecoverage for hearing screening tests or any other hearing screening test oraudiological diagnostic procedure pursuant to this section or any other lawor regulation of the Commonwealth or of the United States or under the termsor provisions of any policy or plan issued, renewed, reissued or extended inthe Commonwealth.
D. The provisions of this section shall not apply to short-term travel,accident only, limited or specified disease policies, or contracts designedfor issuance to persons eligible for coverage under Title XVIII of the SocialSecurity Act, known as Medicare, or any other similar coverage under state orfederal governmental plans, or to short-term nonrenewable policies of notmore than six months' duration.
(2001, c. 663.)