00                      CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 90(HSS)                                                                     
01 "An Act relating to a temporary health project for testing mothers and newborns for                                     
02 baseline vitamin D levels and supplying supplementation and nutritional education."                                     
03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
04    * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section                          
05 to read:                                                                                                                
06       VITAMIN D TESTING FOR PREGNANT WOMEN AND NEWBORNS. (a) The                                                        
07 legislature finds that multiple studies demonstrate a link between vitamin D insufficiency in                           
08 newborns and higher incidences of mental and physical health problems that lead to higher                               
09 costs of future medical, educational, and support services. Studies also show lower rates of                            
10 negative pregnancy outcomes with adequate vitamin D levels.                                                             
11       (b)  On or before January 1, 2015, the department shall coordinate a 24-month project                             
12 for the purpose of acquiring data on vitamin D levels of 500 pregnant women and their                                   
13 newborns born in the state during the testing period as provided in this section.                                       
14       (c)  The department shall award a matching grant of not more than 20 percent of the                               

01 entire project cost, not to exceed $100,000, to a nonprofit entity to provide, at no cost to the                        
02 health care provider or to the participant, the following services:                                                     
03            (1)  initiate a voluntary health project in the state to                                                     
04                 (A)  determine vitamin D levels of pregnant women and their                                             
05       newborns;                                                                                                         
06                 (B)  provide vitamin D supplementation, as needed, to project                                           
07       participants; and                                                                                                 
08                 (C)  provide public information regarding the project and the effects of                                
09       vitamin D deficiency;                                                                                             
10            (2)  take or supervise the taking of blood-spot samples from approximately 500                               
11 volunteer pregnant women and their newborns for vitamin D level testing;                                                
12            (3)  conduct, to the extent feasible, the vitamin D testing at the same time as                              
13 other newborn or cord blood testing;                                                                                    
14            (4)  ensure that the sampling complies with federal and state privacy laws;                                  
15            (5)  submit the samples to the group that is under contract with the department                              
16 to analyze the samples; and                                                                                             
17            (6)  provide follow-up to the project participants as necessary to provide                                   
18 nutritional education and vitamin D supplementation, if warranted.                                                      
19       (d)  The department shall contract with a research group that is affiliated with an                               
20 accredited university in the United States and that is conducting national clinical research on                         
21 the subject of newborn and prenatal vitamin D levels to provide technical support and to                                
22 analyze the samples and data collected under (c) of this section.                                                       
23       (e)  The department shall notify health care providers licensed in the state of the                               
24 existence of the project and provide contact information for the grantee under (c) of this                              
25 section.                                                                                                                
26       (f)  In this section,                                                                                             
27            (1)  "department" means the Department of Health and Social Services;                                        
28            (2)  "health care provider" means a physician, physician assistant, midwife, or                              
29 nurse.