Delaware lawmakers pass first early allergen introduction bill
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Key takeaways:
- Delaware is the first state to introduce early allergen supplementation.
- Early allergen introduction would save millions of dollars in costs.
Introduced by Delaware Rep. Kimberly Williams (D-19) in January, HB 274 would provide caregivers in the state with at least one peanut and one egg food allergen supplement to reduce the risk of developing these allergies.
In March, the Delaware House Economic Development/Banking/Insurance & Commerce Committee voted unanimously to pass the bill, which takes it one step closer to becoming law.
“It really will save the state of Delaware a lot of money and also most importantly help families have a better outcome for their children,” Wiliams told Healio.
The bill, if signed into law, would provide at least one dose of peanut and egg food allergen supplement to caregivers to feed their infant at age 4 to 6 months. The supplement would be free to everyone, including Medicaid recipients, and could be obtained from a doctor.
The bill would also include a public education portion in order to further instruct the public on how to prevent food allergies and dispel anxieties about supplementation.
“We are really going to have to educate folks about why this is so important,” Williams said. “Public health is going to have to help us do that. It’s going to take time for folks to really understand and really accept that this is preventable by using these supplements.”
Multiple studies have shown that early introduction to potential food allergens can drastically reduce the prevalence of food allergies in a population.
Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) applauded the effort by the Delaware lawmakers and further emphasized the importance of early allergen introduction.
“Research has found conclusively that if you provide early introduction to toddlers before a year you can dramatically decrease the rise of food allergies later on,” Jason Linde, MA, senior vice president of advocacy for FARE, told Healio.
“One of the reasons why there’s more than 33 million Americans with life-threatening food allergies today is that for decades we were told by pediatricians that if there’s any risk, if they have eczema, if they have any allergies in their family, do not feed your child any allergic foods,” Linde continued.
This approach sparked an “unbelievable” increase in the number of people with food allergies, he said.
“We’re now up over 33 million Americans and it’s about 7.6% of all children and about 10.8% of all adults,” Linde said.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Addendum Guidelines for Peanut Allergy Prevention state that infants should be introduced to peanuts and other allergens as early as age 6 months.
But a study performed by the Children’s Hospital of Chicago showed that only one-third of physicians adhered to early introduction guidelines. Healio spoke with Meenal Lele, BASc, BS, a food allergy advocate who worked alongside State Rep. Williams on HB 274, about why there is such a low adherence.
“It really comes down to cost, convenience and fear,” Lele, who also is founder and CEO of Lil Mixins and Hanimune Therapeutics, said.
“What this bill does is it completely eliminates the issues of cost and convenience. A lot of the fear is based in the idea of ‘am I the only one doing this?’ Any practice that becomes the norm removes a lot of the fear,” Lele said.
“The more other families are doing the same thing, the less you’re fearful. The more it becomes something not just where you have to go to the store and do by yourself, but something specific that your doctor prescribed to you,” she added.
The fiscal note alongside HB 274 shows that the bill would cost the state around $640,000 in the 2027 fiscal year. But, studies show that reducing instances of food allergies by using early supplementation will save the state as well as patients and insurance companies millions of dollars.
“What we really do appreciate about the Delaware bill and what we definitely want to do should it be passed into law, is work with different state legislatures for them to see that this is really showing foresight and a return on investment,” Linde said. “We don’t have to have the scourge of food allergies anymore. If we could get this into every state, we could really save states a lot of money and parents and families a lot of pain and time.”
HB 274 is currently assigned to the appropriations committee and, if signed into law, would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2026.
References:
- An act to amend Title 18, Title 29 and Title 31 of the Delaware code relating to insurance coverage of allergen introduction dietary supplements for infants, DE HB 274, 152nd General Assembly (2023-2024). https://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?LegislationId=140824. Published Jan. 4, 2024. Accessed April 3, 2024.
- Gupta RS, et al. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.10511.
- Gupta RS, et al. JAMA Pediatr. 2013;doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2013.2376.