Senators urge U.S. to close lead testing gaps, citing Reuters investigation
Source: Reuters
Politics | Thu Jul 14, 2016 7:37pm EDT
Senators urge U.S. to close lead testing gaps, citing Reuters investigation
BY JOSHUA SCHNEYER AND M.B. PELL
Some influential U.S. senators are urging a federal agency to take action to ensure more children are tested for lead poisoning, citing a Reuters investigation that found millions are missing required lead tests, leaving some vulnerable to lifelong health effects.
In a three-page letter to be sent on Friday, U.S. senators including Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Ron Wyden of Oregon and Deborah Stabenow of Michigan, all Democrats, called on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), to re-evaluate its lead screening policy for millions of Medicaid-eligible children.
The senators want CMS to improve U.S. blood lead testing rates they called dismal, and to ensure all state Medicaid programs comply with testing rules and provide treatment for children with elevated blood lead levels. Medicaid is a U.S. government program that provides health care for low-income and disabled people.
The letter, provided to Reuters by Browns office, cites a June Reuters investigation (reut.rs/1YgbjCX) detailing how millions of U.S. children are falling through the cracks of early childhood lead testing requirements. Though Medicaid has long required children in the program to receive blood lead tests at ages one and two, Reuters obtained data from nearly a dozen states showing that only 41 percent of Medicaid-eligible children were tested as required in 2014.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-lead-senate-idUSKCN0ZU2RR