Senate Bill No. 562
(By Senators Walker, Anderson, Bailey, Ross, Wooton, Jackson,
Plymale, Blatnik, Sharpe, Dittmar, Bowman, Oliverio, Minear,
Kimble, Yoder, Whitlow, Helmick and Tomblin, Mr. President)
____________
[Introduced February 19, 1996; referred to the
Committee on Health and Human Resources.]
____________
A BILL to amend and reenact sections one, two, three, four, five
and six, article four, chapter forty-nine of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, all relating to children with special health care
needs.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections one, two, three, four, five and six, article
four, chapter forty-nine of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and
reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4. HANDICAPPED CHILDREN.
§49-4-1. Purpose.
The purpose of this article is to provide for the continuation and development of services for
handicapped children
with special health care needs. The state bureau of public
health within the department of health and human resources shall
formulate and apply administrative policies concerning the care
and treatment of
physically handicapped children
with special
health care needs and shall cooperate with other agencies
responsible for such care and treatment.
In the development of administrative policies, the state
bureau shall cooperate with the United States department of
health and human services and shall comply with the regulations
that agency prescribes under the authority of the "Social
Security Act", and is hereby authorized to receive and expend
federal funds for these services.
§49-4-2. Children to whom article applies.
It is the intention of this article that services for
handicapped children
with special health care needs shall be
extended only to those children for whom adequate care, treatment
and rehabilitation are not available from other than public
sources.
§49-4-3. Powers of state bureau.
In the care and treatment of
handicapped children
with special health care needs the state bureau of public health
shall, so far as funds are available for the purpose:
(1) Locate
handicapped children
with special health care
needs requiring medical, surgical or other corrective treatment
and provide competent diagnosis to determine the treatment
required.
(2) Supply to
handicapped children
with special health care
needs treatment, including hospitalization and aftercare leading
to correction and rehabilitation.
(3) Guide and supervise
handicapped children
with special
health care needs to assure adequate care and treatment.
§49-4-4. Report of birth of special health care needs child.
Within thirty days after the birth of a child with a
congenital deformity, the physician, midwife or other person
attending the birth shall report to the state bureau of public
health, on forms prescribed by them, the birth of such child.
The report shall be solely for the use of the state
department of health and human resources and shall not be open
for public inspection.
§49-4-5. Assistance by other agencies.
So far as practicable, the services and facilities of the state departments of health
and human services, education,
vocational rehabilitation and corrections or their successors
shall be available to the state bureau of public health for the
purposes of this article.
§49-4-6. Cost of treatment.
All payments from any corporation, association, program or
fund providing insurance coverage or other payment for medicine,
medical, surgical and hospital treatment, crutches, artificial
limbs and such other and additional approved mechanical
appliances and devices as may be reasonably required for a
handicapped child
with special health care needs, shall be
applied toward the total cost of treatment.
__________
(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to change the words
"handicapped children" to "children with special health care
needs". This change will make state usage consistent with
national common health terminology, and will facilitate the
coordination of services for such children.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.)