At a meeting of the Michigan House Rules Committee, members heard testimony on House Bill 4,402, which would add congenital cytomegalovirus, commonly called CMV, to the list of conditions screened for at birth.

The bill’s sponsor and medical experts told the committee that CMV is common and can cause lifelong disabilities, including hearing loss, and that adding CMV to the newborn screening panel would allow earlier diagnosis and, for some infants, antiviral treatment with the best results if started before about a month of age. Committee members asked about potential fiscal impacts and whether the Newborn Screening Quality Assurance Committee should evaluate CMV before statutory action.

Representative Vanderwall, who presented the bill, said CMV “affects 1 out of every hundred and 50 babies born, and about 1 fifth of those develop lifelong health problems,” and argued the test can be done using the same specimen already collected for other newborn screens. He described the bill as adding CMV to the list of conditions screened at birth and requiring the Department of Health and Human Services to create informational materials for clinicians and parents.

Dr. Casey Stack, an audiologist and legislative chair of the Michigan Audiology Coalition, told the committee that CMV is the most common cause of nonhereditary hearing loss in children and emphasized that most infants with congenital CMV “appear completely healthy at birth.” Stack said screening “preferably within the 21 days of life” would allow clinicians to identify infants who might benefit from early treatment and monitoring.

Dr. Megan Pesch, a developmental and behavioral pediatrician at the University of Michigan and executive director of the National CMV Foundation, described her clinical experience running a congenital CMV follow-up clinic and recounted that early diagnosis can enable antiviral treatment for infants who meet criteria and allow closer developmental and hearing monitoring for others. Pesch said, “Diagnosing these babies early gives us the opportunity to give some antiviral treatment, those who qualify, those who are more severe or who have hearing loss.”

Several lawmakers pressed on implementation and process. Vice Chair Whitworth said the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) had raised questions and “would prefer that CMV be evaluated and potentially added to the Newborn Screening Quality Assurance Committee rather than the statute.” Stack said advocates had asked that advisory committee to review universal screening three years earlier but that the committee had not yet acted.

Committee members also asked about clinical outcomes. Dr. Pesch and other clinicians testified that antivirals show the best benefit when started very early — generally before about a month of age — and that early intervention for hearing loss supports language development during the critical birth-to-age-3 window. The witnesses said some hearing loss can be slowed or arrested and that early detection allows timely supports and, where appropriate, antiviral therapy.

Charlie Burton of DHHS was present and did not register opposition to the bill as written, but DHHS’ earlier questions about fiscal impact and the preferred advisory review were noted on the record. The committee did not vote on House Bill 4,402 at the meeting.

Votes at a glance

- House Bill 4,509: Representative Aragona moved to report the bill with recommendation. Clerk called the roll; the result was seven yays, zero nays, no passes. The motion prevailed and the bill was reported with recommendation.

- Adoption of minutes, Sept. 25 meeting: Representative DeBoer moved to adopt the minutes; there was no objection and the motion prevailed by unanimous consent.

- Motion to excuse absent members: Representative Martin moved to excuse absent members; there was no objection and the motion prevailed by unanimous consent.

The hearing record shows continued advocacy from clinicians and advocates for universal newborn CMV screening and information materials, balanced by DHHS concerns about fiscal effects and a suggestion the Newborn Screening Quality Assurance Committee consider the matter. The bill remains under committee consideration; no final action on House Bill 4,402 was recorded at this meeting.