The Senate and House Committee on Public Health, Welfare and Labor on Wednesday adopted an interim study proposal to evaluate screening for type 1 diabetes in young children, Representative Lademan told the committee.

The study will examine the costs, target age groups and which providers should deliver screening, and it was adopted "without objection," the committee chair said, assigning the ISP to the health services subcommittees.

Representative Lademan, who said she filed a bill during the legislative session that did not reach a vote, explained the proposal grew out of a constituent case in which a later diagnosis made treatment more difficult. "This is a bill that I filed during the session, and we didn't get around to running that. It has to do with screening for type 1 diabetes for, young children," Lademan said.

The chair told members that Miss Steele will send subcommittee assignments and that ISP authors may schedule meetings with subcommittee chairs to pursue the study. The committee recorded no formal roll-call vote; the chair stated the ISP was adopted "without objection." Representative Lademan and other members indicated primary care physicians and pediatricians should be included in the study's scope.

Why it matters: Early screening can change clinical management and resource needs, but the committee has not yet defined which ages to screen or estimated implementation costs. The ISP is intended to gather evidence to inform potential legislation in a future regular session.

Details and next steps: The committee placed the ISP with the health services subcommittees; Representative Bart Schultz was identified as the House-side health services chair who will receive these referrals. The committee did not set a timeline for the subcommittee work in the meeting record; Miss Steele was asked to circulate schedules and subcommittee lists.

Background: Committee members described the proposal as a continuation of session work; Representative Lademan said she wants the interim work to "study what's the costs, what age group, and so forth." No funding amounts, specific screening tests, or age ranges were specified during the meeting.

The committee also announced a tour at the Arkansas State Hospital later in the week for Public Health Committee members; logistics were to be emailed to members.