Blood lead testing is recommended for ALL children twice before age 24 months, and more often if the risk assessment tool indicates need. Medicaid requires that Medicaid- enrolled children be blood lead tested at 12 and 24 months of age. Immediate blood lead testing is recommended for any child 12 to 72 months of age that does not have a documented blood lead test. Initial blood tests may be performed by either capillary or venous sample.
Some blood lead confirmation and retest intervals have been changed.
The number of questions on the risk assessment tool has been reduced. If a child s fingers or heels are cleaned carefully, a capillary sampling can perform well as an initial testing tool. Perform a blood test on any child 12 to 72 months that does not have a documented blood lead test immediately. For this purpose, a lead risk assessment tool is provided below. If answer is yes to any of the above, then perform a blood lead test.