HB 579 Summary

• Repeals and reenacts 87 sections of Missouri law related to health care policies, particularly affecting mental health, developmental disabilities, and hospital licensing and regulation.

• Changes terminology throughout mental health and developmental disability statutes, replacing "mental retardation" with "developmental disability" to reflect modern medical and social standards.

• Authorizes hospital districts to impose a local sales tax (up to 1%) on retail sales and utilities for domestic use, subject to voter approval, to fund hospital district operations.

• Establishes new requirements for hospital licensure regulations to promote efficiency, eliminate duplicative inspections, and align state standards with federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services guidelines.

• Enacts "Chloe's Law" requiring the Department of Health and Senior Services to expand newborn screening to include pulse oximetry screening by January 1, 2012, and establishes new dental delivery system provisions for MO HealthNet.