§ 71-523 — Departments; powers and duties; adopt rules and regulations; contracting laboratories; requirements; fees

(1) The Department of Health and Human Services shall provide educational and resource services regarding screened diseases to persons affected by sections 71-519 to 71-524 and to the public generally.
(2) The Department of Health and Human Services may apply for, receive, and administer assessed fees and federal or other funds which are available for the purpose of implementing sections 71-519 to 71-524 and may contract for or provide services as may be necessary to implement such sections.
(3) The Department of Health and Human Services shall adopt and promulgate rules and regulations to implement sections 71-519 to 71-524 .
(4) The Department of Health and Human Services shall contract, following competitive bidding, with a single laboratory to perform tests, report results, set forth the fee the laboratory will charge for testing, and collect and submit fees pursuant to sections 71-519 to 71-524 . The department shall require the contracting laboratory to: (a) Perform testing for all of the diseases pursuant to section 71-519 and in accordance with rules and regulations adopted and promulgated pursuant to this section, (b) maintain certification under the federal Clinical Laboratories Improvement Act of 1967, 42 U.S.C. 263a, as such act and section existed on July 20, 2002, (c) participate in appropriate quality assurance proficiency testing programs offered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States Department of Health and Human Services or other professional laboratory organization, as determined by the Department of Health and Human Services, (d) maintain sufficient contingency arrangements to ensure testing delays of no longer than twenty-four hours in the event of natural disaster or laboratory equipment failure, and (e) charge to the hospital, other birthing facility, or other submitter the fee provided in the contract for laboratory testing costs and the administration fee specified in subsection (5) of this section. The administration fee collected pursuant to such subsection shall be remitted to the Department of Health and Human Services.
(5) The Department of Health and Human Services shall set an administration fee of not more than twenty dollars. The department may use the administration fee to pay for the costs of the central data registry, tracking, monitoring, referral, quality assurance, program operation, program development, program evaluation, and treatment services authorized under sections 71-519 to 71-523 . The fee shall be collected by the contracting laboratory as provided in subdivision (4)(e) of this section.
(6) Fees collected for the department pursuant to sections 71-519 to 71-523 shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the Health and Human Services Cash Fund.

Legislative History

Source: Laws 1987, LB 385, § 5; Laws 1996, LB 1044, § 506; Laws 1997, LB 610, § 2; Laws 1998, LB 1073, § 88; Laws 2002, LB 235, § 5; Laws 2005, LB 301, § 19; Laws 2007, LB296, § 394; Laws 2017, LB91, § 4.