Kansas House Bill HB2399

Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/28/25
• Refer: 2/28/25

Caption

Establishing an advance universal newborn screening program, providing for the reimbursement of certain treatment services and extending the transfer of moneys to the Kansas newborn screening fund.

Summary

HB 2399 would revise Kansas law governing newborn screening by creating an “advance universal newborn screening program” administered by the secretary of health and environment. The bill directs the department to provide screening tests for congenital hypothyroidism, galactosemia, phenylketonuria, and additional treatable conditions the secretary identifies by rule, using available funding and guidance from national screening recommendations. It also expands the department’s follow-up responsibilities, including locating infants with abnormal results, supporting confirmatory testing and treatment monitoring with parental consent, maintaining a registry, and providing education and support services for affected families. The bill also updates the state’s treatment and reimbursement framework for diagnosed children. It requires the department to provide or reimburse medically necessary treatment products and medically necessary food treatment products for certain diagnosed conditions, including maple syrup urine disease, subject to income-based eligibility rules and exhaustion of other coverage sources such as private insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, and other assistance programs. For food treatment products, the bill authorizes reimbursement or direct purchase/distribution up to $1,500 per year per child age 18 or younger, with eligibility generally limited to households at or below 300% of the federal poverty level. The bill further extends the annual transfer of funds from the medical assistance fee fund to the Kansas newborn screening fund, capping the transfer at $5 million in fiscal years 2024, 2025, and 2026.

Impact

HB 2399 would amend K.S.A. 65-180, 65-181, and 65-183 to broaden the scope of mandatory newborn screening in Kansas and to give the secretary of health and environment greater discretion to add conditions to the screening panel. It would also strengthen statutory authority for follow-up, registry maintenance, treatment support, and reimbursement for medically necessary products, while preserving the role of Medicaid and other payers as primary sources of coverage. In addition, it would continue and cap the annual transfer into the Kansas newborn screening fund, ensuring dedicated financing for the program through fiscal year 2026.

Sentiment

Based on the bill text and available context, the measure appears generally favorable and public-health oriented, with a focus on early detection, treatment access, and family support for newborns with rare metabolic and genetic disorders. The bill was introduced by committee request and there are no recorded committee transcripts or votes in the provided materials indicating opposition or amendment debate. Overall, the framing suggests a consensus-style health policy bill intended to improve screening coverage and continuity of care.

Contention

The main policy issues likely to draw scrutiny are the breadth of the secretary’s authority to determine which conditions are included in screening, the cost of expanded screening and treatment reimbursement, and the income-based eligibility thresholds for state assistance. Another possible point of contention is the bill’s reliance on the newborn screening fund and the capped transfer from the medical assistance fee fund, which could raise budgetary concerns about sustainability and competing uses of state health dollars. No specific stakeholder objections are documented in the provided record, but the affected parties would include the Department of Health and Environment, hospitals, physicians, newborns and families, and state budget officials.