I support the bill sponsored by Sen. Bill Bradley (D-N.J.) and Rep. Gerald Solomon (R-N.Y.) that would guarantee hospital coverage for health plans that cover maternity care to provide at least 48 hours after a normal delivery and at least 96 hours after a Caesarean section (plus some follow-up care). It should be up to the doctors, nurses and mothers as to when a maternity patient and child are ready and able to go home, rather than some blanket maximum-stay rule set by insurance companies.
Last year my wife gave birth to our son via C-section. She was very weak and hardly able to walk, but the doctor was forced to release my wife on the second day of her stay because our HMO, managed by one of the largest and probably one of the most profitable companies, had a set policy of a 48-hour maximum stay for a C-section.
Later complications that nearly resulted in death for my wife just may have been diagnosed early enough if my wife had been allowed to stay longer. By being “pennywise,” my insurance carrier was “dollar foolish” because of a possibly avoided medical emergency.
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Managed care is a reality that will increasingly affect a majority of the health care provided in this country. It is my hope that our elected officials will support the above bill rather than be influenced by the powerful insurance industry and its bottom-line mentality.