Healthcare Legislation - AB-2122 Bill On Child Lead Screening In California (Essay Sample)

Healthcare Legislation - AB-2122 bill on Child Lead Screening Student’s Name: Course: Tutor: Institutional Affiliation Date: Healthcare Legislation - AB-2122 bill on Child Lead Screening Introduction There are many new health-related legislations that are currently undergoing through the legislative process in the California Legislature. In particular, there is a greater focus on issues such as public health, healthcare coverage, workers compensation issues and drug prescribing. Child lead poisoning is one of the perceived public health problems under the current proposed bills. The increasing concerns of lead poisoning among children has impelled a California lawmaker to introduce the AB-2122 bill, requiring all the state children to be screened for the toxic metal. The AB-2122 bill was introduced by an Assembly member, Reyes, requiring the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to make sure that all state’s children within the ages of 12 to 24 months and enrolled in Medi-Cal, receive blood lead screening. The bill also requires screening test for children aged between 2 and 6 years who have no previous record of blood lead screening (California Legislative Information, 2018). Currently, the only children who are tested for lead poisoning are those within supplemental nutrition program, children who spend most of their time in buildings built before 1978, as well as those in government assisted programs such as WIC and Medi-Cal (Ibarra, A. B., 2017). As a result, many children who may be at a higher risk of exposure are left untested for lead poisoning. Current regulations in California have fallen short in the legal obligation of testing children who are at the highest risk of exposure. Overview of the Health Problem is an exceedingly potent neurotoxin that can permanently damage a child’s brain. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), even small amounts of lead in children can result to physical and mental disorders such as attention deficit, delayed body growth, behavioral disorders, cognitive disorders, as well as brain damage. The long-term effects of exposure to lead include hearing disabilities, learning problems, hyperactivity, delayed puberty as well as lifelong developmental and health problems. (Sara B et al., 2018). Bill Quirk authored the AB-2122 bill on child blood lead screening citing examples of the contaminated water supply in Mich., Flint as well as the hazardous lead levels of the soils in Vernon city following the emissions of a battery recycling plant (Ibarra, A. B., 2017). Lead is leading environmental threat to the health of children and can be found in soil, paint, dust and water. While the use of lead in paint and gasoline was banned by the state and federal states in the 1970, older infrastructures still have lead pipes or paints which continue to pose threats to children. Considering the ages of some infrastructures in California, the risks of exposure to lead are ubiquitous (Ibarra, A. B., 2017). Testing blood levels is essential in identifying the children who are highly exposed as well as the environments and neighborhoods with the highest exposure to lead. In addition, identifying the children with high blood lead levels allows the commencement of treatment. Lead poisoning is a threat to all children irrespective of their socioeconomic status, although children from low income families are likely to be exposed to lead by living in older houses with lead paint and other exposures. The long-term consequences of exposure to lead does not only affect children but affects the entire communities (Sara B et al., 2018). In California, child lead poisoning is defined as a child with an elevated lead level of a minimum of 14.5 micrograms per deciliter of blood, or a child who after two consecutive test, has an elevated lead level of a minimum of 9.5 micrograms per deciliter (Little, S., 2018). According to a 2012 data by the Department of Public health, it was found that 13000 out of the 650,402 children tested for lead had lead levels above the recommended thresholds (Ibarra, A. B., 2017). According to a new analysis of the state records by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), in each fiscal year between 2012 and 2016, approximately 529,000 (75%) of California children signed up for the Medi-Cal program did not receive the required blood lead test (Little, S., 2017). The Medi-Cal is a government assisted insurance program for low income families. Studies have shown that children who are enrolled in the Medi-Cal have a seven times higher risk of lead poisoning compared to the children from high-income backgrounds. According to the California Department of Public Health, among the children enrolled in the Medi-Cal, 88% have lead poisoning (Little, S., 2018). Severity of the Health Problem The blood lead testing for all children enrolled in Medi-Cal was mandated by the state in 1991 after a lawsuit filed by environmental and child health advocates against the state due to its failure to ensure lead testing for Medi-Cal-insured children (Little, S., 2017). The state regulations mandated for the blood lead testing for all children enrolled in all public assistance programs including Medi-Cal at the age of 12 and 24 months and implementations of interventions to prevent further lead exposure. The regulations expanded this requirement to children who lived in recently remodeled and poorly maintained old buildings built before 1978. The state also required the testing of children exposed to various sources of lead such as contaminated soil, toys, candy as well as when the parents request their child to be tested (Little, S., 2017). The Department of Public Health (DPH) was given the ultimate regulatory authority to implement the child lead poisoning guidelines. However, the state and most of its counties have not succeeded in implementing this mandate for several years. Although the DPH has the ultimate obligation to ensure lead testing, the responsibilities are shared by the counties which implement their own child lead poisoning prevention programs. According to the state auditor in 1999, the DPH had failed in ensuring that all at-risk are tested for lead poisoning as well as the extent in which lead poisoning was problematic to the state. A 2000 study by the Environ...