Bartholomew County is one of several counties in Indiana taking steps to ensure more children are tested for lead paint toxicity, The Republic reports. In July, a group of doctors, lawyers, and advocacy groups pushed the state's health department to lower the threshold that triggers aid for children suffering lead poisoning. However, that standard remains unchanged and the threshold currently is twice as high as what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends. As a result of this, several counties, including Bartholomew County, have taken steps independently to increase interventions and home visits.
Bartholomew County Health nursing division director Amanda Organist is asking the Bartholomew County commissioners to amend an ordinance that allows her department to seek co-payments from private insurers for lead testing, screening, case management, risk assessment and follow up visits.
The amendment seeks the private insurer’s pay rate, which Organist says differs for each insurance company. Currently, only Medicaid—which is intended for low-income individuals—pays for all of the services, she said. According to the state’s 2017 Childhood Lead Surveillance Report, while 94% of all Medicaid-eligible children received the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, only 11% were given the required blood test to detect lead.
If a lead toxicity screening shows five micrograms per deciliter or greater of lead, the Bartholomew County Health department will get involved with home visits and education, Organist said. If the test shows 10 micrograms or more, home visits are made and case management is instituted, she said. But that’s not the policy for all Hoosier counties. Indiana’s current threshold for a child to receive many of these services through Medicaid is 10 micrograms per deciliter — twice as high as what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends.
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