Who performs newborn screening?
Newborn genetic screening programs are conducted worldwide. In the United States, newborn screening programs are developed and run by individual states. Each state decides which disorders to test for and how to cover the costs of screening. Who is screened? In most cases, newborn infants are automatically screened in the hospital shortly after delivery. Who pays for screening? Individual states in the United States finance their newborn screening programs in different ways. Most states collect a fee for screening, which ranges from less than $15 to nearly $60 per newborn. Health insurance or other programs can pay this fee for the newborn’s parents. Often, the fee charged does not fully cover the cost of screening, so public health system funding is used to supplement the program. Financing a screening program comes with an expectation that the benefits of testing – early detection and treatment – will equal or exceed the cost. Who decides? Lawmakers in each state have enacted legislat
