Texas Children's Health Plan will be closed on Friday, July 4th, in observance of Independence Day. In our absence, you can reach our after-hours nurse help line at 1-800-686-3831. We will resume normal business hours on Monday, July 7th. Wishing you a safe and happy Independence Day!
Texas Children's Health Plan estará cerrado el viernes 4 de julio por el Día de la Independencia. Durante este tiempo, puede comunicarse con nuestra línea de ayuda disponible las 24 horas, los 7 días de la semana, al 1-800-686-3831. Reanudaremos nuestro horario habitual el lunes 7 de julio. ¡Le deseamos un feliz y seguro el Día de la Independencia!
Cold and flu seasonTemporada de influenza y resfriados
ALERT:Stay healthy this cold and flu season!Learn more
ALERTA: ¡Mantente sano durante esta temporada de influenza y resfriados!Más información
Updates to the 2025 Newborn Screening Collection Kits
Date: July 7, 2025
Attention: All Providers
Call to action: The purpose of this communication is to inform providers of the updates to the 2025 Newborn Screening Collection Kits.
The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) Laboratory will start shipping the 2025 Newborn Screening (NBS) Collection Kits starting this week. The new kits will have serial numbers starting with 25 (25XXXXXXX).
What’s New in the 2025 NBS Collection Kits:
Replaced “Charity” with “Uninsured” on all pages of the Medicaid/CHIP/Uninsured Kits (NBS 3). Uninsured applies to patients without insurance or self-pay who do not qualify for coverage of NBS services through Medicaid, CHIP, or any other government program. Use this type of NBS Collection Kit for newborns eligible for Medicaid, covered by CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program), or without any other payment options as required in Texas Administrative Code, Title 25 section 37.55.
Changed the name of the “Parent Decision Form for Storage and Use of Newborn Screening Blood Spot Cards” to “Storage and Use of Newborn Screening Blood Spots” (page 2).
Replaced “Ambiguous” with “Unknown” in the Sex field under the Newborn Information section on the Demographic form (page 3).
Added “DO NOT COVER BARCODE” on the manila blood collection paper (page 5). This serves as a reminder to avoid placing labels over the barcodes.
Revised the Texas Newborn Screening Instructions (page 6):
Added “Apply only one blood drop to each circle” to Collection Procedure #4.
Updated Collection Procedure #8 to say, “If possible, ship dried specimen the same day as collection.”
Listed both the overnight courier address and USPS post office box side by side.
Added a QR code linking to the CLSI blood collection video. (Note: The QR code no longer works. Providers can view the video directly at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S51Y9ShD6HI )
Added the Laboratory contact email to use when ordering more NBS Collection Kits.
What Providers Should Do Now:
Continue using your current NBS Collection Kits until they expire.
Prepare the staff responsible for NBS collection for these upcoming changes so your team is ready when the new NBS Collection Kits arrive.
