TEMPLATE FOR USE BY ACI ALLIANCE MEMBERS IN ADVOCATING TO SENATORS ON EHDI LEGISLATION

Dear [insert Health LA Name],       Click HERE for a Contact List

I write to you as a constituent and as a clinician (or educator or consumer or parent) in support of the reauthorization of the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Act of 2015 (S.2424). This important bipartisan legislation was introduced by Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) and Senator Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY) on December 18, 2015. Companion legislation (H.R. 1344) was passed by the House last summer. I ask that Senator XXX {insert Senator’s name) consider cosponsoring S. 2424. I hope the Senate HELP Committee will mark-up this legislation as soon as possible, move S. 2424 onto the Senate floor for passage, and send it to the President for enactment this year.

BILL SUMMARY

·         S. 2424 amends the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize research and public health activities related to early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of hearing loss in newborns, infants, and young children.  S. 2424 reauthorizes the federal authority for hearing tests and intervention programs for newborn babies, which were first authorized through the Newborn Infant Hearing Screening and Intervention Act of 1999. ACI Alliance strongly supports new provisions in the legislation that would ensure parents of children with hearing loss are presented with the full range of treatment options and that the reauthorization is extended to young children, in addition to newborns and infants.  Activities authorized under the bill are conducted by HRSA, CDC, and NIH.

BACKGROUND

·         Two to three of every 1,000 children in the United States are born deaf or hard-of-hearing and still more lose their hearing later in childhood, according to NIH.

·         Genetic disorders, disease, complications at birth, and toxic medications can cause hearing loss in infants and children.

·         Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) refers to the practice of routine screening of newborns for hearing loss prior to hospital discharge or within the first 30 days of life.  Professionals in the field strongly urge that infants not passing the screening receive diagnostic evaluation before three months of age and are enrolled in early intervention programs by six months of age.

·         Research has shown that early intervention is particularly critical for spoken language development in children with hearing loss. All 50 states and the District of Columbia have EHDI laws or voluntary compliance programs that screen hearing and provide needed follow-up services.

·         Early detection of hearing loss is similar to the early detection of any other disease or illness—it can dramatically change the outcome of one’s prognosis. 

·         The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that enacting S. 2424 would cost $212 million over the 2016 to 2020 period, assuming appropriation of the specified and necessary amounts.  Enacting S. 2424 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply and it imposes no unfunded mandates.

Thank you for consideration of my request. I hope the Senator will cosponsor S. 2424 and help move this non-controversial reauthorization through Congress as expeditiously as possible. Please let me know if you have any questions or if I can provide the Senator’s office with my expertise in the field, with respect to the positive impact of this program.

For information regarding the American Cochlear Implant (ACI) Alliance or stakeholder advocacy efforts, please contact: Donna Sorkin, Executive Director at 703.534.6146 or dsorkin@acialliance.org.

Sincerely,

[insert your name, credential, professional title, institution name or if a consumer/parent include those details]

American Cochlear Implant (ACI) Alliance Member 

www.ACIAlliance.org