The intent of the General Assembly is to provide financial assistance for the treatment of children with congenital disabilities and to require the establishment and maintenance of a congenital disabilities surveillance system and registry for the State.

(1) Surveillance system and registry. — Responsibility for establishing and maintaining the system and registry is delegated to the Department of Health and Social Services, along with the authority to exercise certain powers to implement the system and registry. To ensure an accurate and continuing source of data concerning congenital disabilities, the General Assembly by this subchapter requires certain health care practitioners and all hospitals and clinical laboratories to make available to the Department of Health and Social Services information contained in the medical records of patients who have a suspected or confirmed congenital disability diagnosis. All confirmed congenital disabilities shall be classified and coded using the medically recognized system of International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM), as well as the 6-digit modified British Pediatric Association system (BPA/ICD-9), and all subsequent revisions to these publications which are used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is intended that the product of these efforts will be a central data bank of accurate, precise and current information regarding all congenital disabilities diagnosed or treated, or both, in this State.

(2) Treatment. — The cost of treating children for congenital disabilities can be prohibitive and impose a substantial burden upon the children’s families beyond the resources of those families and beyond the resources of state, federal or private agencies. The treatment of such children is in the best interest and welfare of the people and the State. It is the intent of this subchapter to provide assistance with the cost of treatment for children so afflicted.

Treatment paid for under this Program shall be provided, insofar as possible, within the State. The Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services shall establish rules and regulations for the eligibility of persons requesting services under this subchapter, including the ability of those persons to pay for services, and for the disbursement of funds appropriated for this Program. However, this subchapter will in no way affect the rights, liabilities or duties of the Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services or of persons or guardians of persons requesting services under this subchapter from operation of laws or prior existing laws and, in particular, § 7940 of Title 29.

60 Del. Laws, c. 63, § 1; 71 Del. Laws, c. 86, § 1; 71 Del. Laws, c. 286, § 3; 78 Del. Laws, c. 179, § 157.