A bill, HB 1855, that would require the state to track cases of alpha-gal syndrome, an allergy to mammalian products, passed the Missouri House Thursday by a vote of 125-25.
Alpha-gal is an allergy to red meat and other mammalian products, such as dairy and gelatin, that people can contract from the bite of a lone star tick. Bill sponsor, Rep. Matthew Overcast (R-Ava), said the bill would give the state a better, more accurate and science-based view of the condition's impact on Missourians.
If passed, labs would be required to report positive alpha-gal blood tests to the Department of Health & Senior Services within seven days.
DHSS would then be responsible for doing randomized follow-up with patients, as well as preparing an annual report for Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.
A fiscal note on the bill from DHSS estimates the costs of running the program at approximately $500,000 per year. This would include four new full-time staff members and new equipment.
Overcast said he thinks this is an "overestimation" of how much the tracking would cost, but he acknowledged that more staff is needed to run the program efficiently.
Regardless, Overcast added that he believes the benefits of understanding alpha-gal's full impact on the state and it's residents will outweigh any potential costs — as the condition is impacting everyone from children to farmers across the state.
At this time, there is no budget allotted to the bill, if passed, but Overcast said he's optimistic it would get a budget appropriation next session.
As there are only six weeks left in the legislative session, Overcast said he is working to give the proposed legislation as many chances of passing as possible. The bill text was also included in an omnibus health bill, HB 2372, which also passed the House today.
"I don't care that it gets done with my name on it," Overcast said. "It just needs to get done. So, however we need to get that done… we're gonna do it."
Overcast encouraged those impacted by alpha-gal syndrome to continue to reach out to their legislators to let them know how the condition is impacting their day-to-day lives.
Both bills now head to the Senate.
If adopted, Missouri would join the dozen other states who have mandatory reporting of alpha-gal syndrome.
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