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Senate committee hears bill to require Medicaid, CHIP coverage for cranial helmets for infants
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Summary
The Senate Committee on Health & Human Services heard testimony on House Bill 426 to add cranial-remodeling helmets as a Medicaid and CHIP benefit for infants; resource witnesses said helmets are already covered for some diagnoses and the bill carries a biennial fiscal note of more than $5 million.
House Bill 426 would require Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program to cover cranial-remodeling helmets for infants with conditions that affect skull shape.
Senator West, the bill’s sponsor, told the Committee on Health & Human Services the device “mold[s] a child's head into the proper shape” and is intended for infants “3 to 18 months of age.” The bill was laid out for the committee and left pending after questions and public testimony.
Latour Jones, a resource witness with the Health and Human Services Commission, said the agency currently provides helmets “for certain diagnoses” and that HB 426 would expand the diagnosis codes eligible for coverage and add the benefit to CHIP. Jones also confirmed the fiscal note: the bill carries a biennial cost estimated at more than $5,000,000.
Public testimony included Dr. Donna Kimball, who described clinical use: “And with the helmets, they sleep with them and they're fitted for the child. And as they get, the cranium gets bigger, they'll get bigger helmets.” Committee members questioned the per‑device cost and treatment duration; Jones said the current rate is about $1,100 per helmet and that length of use depends on severity and age at treatment start.
The committee took no vote and left the bill pending for formal consideration at a later meeting.
