States U.S. Virgin Islands

Support for families:

Once a family learns their child has a condition screened for in the Virgin Islands, a concern may be the increased health care costs. In the U.S. Virgin Islands, a program called the Medical Assistance Program (MAP) can help qualifying families by providing options to help them afford the best care available. The Department of Health's Bureau of Health Insurance and Medical Assistance is the division responsible for administering Medicaid in the Virgin Islands. Individuals who receive cash assistance from the Department of Human Services and are classified as "Categorically Needy" are automatically eligible for Medicaid. Assistance (Spend-Down Program) is also available to persons whose incomes and resources are above or in excess of the allowable income level. The excess income is expected to expand (spent down) before MAP provides assistance.

Storage and Use of Dried Blood Spots:

After your child’s blood has been screened for various conditions, there will remain a little bit of blood left on the specimen card, which is called a “residual dried blood spot”.

The Sample Exchange is a peer-to-peer, de-identified sample sharing program aimed at improving regional knowledge about Tandem Mass Spectrometry (MS/MS) screened conditions and local data harmonization within the region; and evaluating the degree of analytical correlation between laboratories. Any samples shared with others will not have any personal or identifying information on them.