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Governor Frank Murkowski's signing of House Bill 109 makes Alaska the 40th state (plus the District of Columbia) to require by law that newborn babies be screened for hearing loss. Five additional states screen 95% or more of newborns without legislation.
Only Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Washington do not have a law and do not meet the 95% voluntary compliance criterion. Details of the Alaska law, as well as EHDI laws in the other states, and status of federal funding for state grants may be found at ASHA's Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Action Center. For more information, please contact Charlie Diggs, ASHA's Director of State and Consumer Advocacy, via email at cdiggs@asha.org or 800-498-2071, ext. 4151.
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