Current through 2024-38, September 18, 2024
A.
Service
fee waiver. The Department may waive charges for services conducted by
HETL under certain circumstances. Examples of testing conducted by HETL for
which the fee may be waived include, but are not limited to, the following
services, which the Department deems essential to the public health:
1. Laboratory Response Network Bioterrorism
and Select Agent testing per the HHS and USDA Select Agents and Toxins 7 CFR
Part 331, 9 CFR Part 121, and 42 CFR Part 73.
2. All required samples submitted in
accordance with 10-144 CMR, Chapter 258, Rules For the Control of Notifiable
Diseases and Conditions.
3. Any
samples assigned an outbreak number by the Department.
4. Rabies specimens for which a public health
risk exists as determined by an epidemiologist or veterinarian.
5. Serotyping of Neisseria
meningitidis and Haemophilus influenzae from sterile
sites.
6. Confirmation and
serotyping of E. coli, Salmonella, and
Shigella bacterial isolates.
7. Whole genome sequencing of E.
coli, Salmonella, Shigella,
Campylobacter, and Listeria bacterial
isolates.
8. Whole genome
sequencing of bacterial isolates associated with hospital-acquired infections
submitted with prior authorization from the Department.
9. Whole genome sequencing and subsequent
metagenomic analysis to determine the potential causative infectious agent(s)
of an environmental sample submitted with prior authorization from the
Department.
10. Identification of
vector borne diseases in mosquitoes and ticks with prior authorization from the
Department or vector borne biologists.
11. Reverse transcription real-time
polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the detection and genotyping of Influenza
virus.
12. Tuberculosis (TB).
a. All testing on patient samples that are
submitted with prior authorization from the Department's TB Control
Program.
b. All testing on patient
samples identified as mycoplasma tuberculosis complex (MTBC)
positive.
c. All MTBC rule-out
testing on specimens submitted for tuberculosis suspects reported to the TB
Control Program in advance of samples being submitted and who meet the
Department's TB Control Program's definition for a MTBC suspect.
B.
Residential
water supply fee waiver for fees over $150. Any fees in excess of $150
for testing a private residential water supply will be waived when:
1. Initial testing or screening indicates the
need for additional testing at a cost of more than $150 to determine whether
the private residential water supply contains contaminants potentially
hazardous to human health, and the Department's Maine CDC determines that the
additional testing is essential to the maintenance of public health;
or
2. The Department's Maine CDC
Drinking Water Program or Epidemiology Program has reason to suspect that the
private residential well may be contaminated and that additional testing is
essential to the maintenance of public health. In making this determination,
this Maine CDC staff will consider:
a. The
proximity of the private residential water supply well to a known or suspected
source of contamination;
b. The
proximity of the private residential water supply well to another private well
or water supply known to be contaminated;
c. Documentation from a physician who has
seen or treated a person and has identified contaminated drinking water as a
possible cause of the person's condition or symptoms; and/or
d. Information provided by the owner or user
of the private residential water supply voluntarily or in response to the
Department's request for information.
As authorized by
22 MRS
§2609, the Department will seek to
recover the costs of testing in excess of $150 from the person responsible for
contaminating the residential water supply, or from the recipient of any
compensation for contamination of the residential water
supply.
C.
Residential water supply fee waiver
for all fees. In addition to the considerations in subsection B above,
the Department may consider the following, as applicable, in determining
whether to waive fees less than $150 for a private residential water supply
testing:
1. A statement from a code
enforcement officer documenting potential contamination of a private
residential water supply.
2. A
statement from a licensed healthcare provider who has seen or treated a person
and has identified contaminated drinking water as a possible cause of the
person's condition or symptoms.
3.
Any information provided by any agency of the Department, or by the Department
of Environmental Protection (DEP), that would support a finding of a need to
test the private water supply in order to protect the public health.
4. Whether more than one test listed in
Section 2 is conducted for a water sample from the same residential private
drinking well. When test results for the private residential water supply
warrant additional testing, the Department may waive payment of testing fees if
the additional testing is conducted within one year subsequent to the initial
testing.
5. Indigency of the owner
of the private residential water supply. For the purpose of this rule,
financial need, or indigency, is determined by HETL, based on gross household
income and household size, consistent with federal poverty guidelines
calculations. Minimally, the applicant must show evidence of gross household
income that is under 130% of the federal poverty guidelines. Evidence of
indigency may include demonstration of SNAP eligibility or qualification for
fuel assistance, or other documentation requested by HETL to determine
financial need.
D.
Fee reduction for public agencies. Upon request, HETL may reduce
or waive the fee for certain tests requested by or on behalf of a public
agency. Public agencies are governmental units and non-profit health agencies
receiving financial support from the Department for public health testing or
services. In considering a request for the reduction or waiver of a fee, HETL
may consider factors including, but not limited to, whether the testing is
requested to meet a public health need, the volume of tests submitted by the
public agency, and whether the test is available through another
laboratory.
E.
Right to
appeal. The decision to deny an applicant's request to waive a fee for
service or test performed by HETL is considered final agency action as defined
in
5 MRS §8002, sub
§-4. The decision to deny a request for a waiver will state the reason for
the denial and the applicant's right of appeal. The applicant whose request is
denied may appeal to a court of competent jurisdiction, in accordance with
5 MRS
§11001.
F.
Payment submission. Payment
of HETL fees and service charges must be in the form of a check and remitted
to:
Treasurer, State of Maine
Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory (HETL)
DHHS Maine CDC
12 State House Station
Augusta, Maine 04333-0012
