THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 22, 1996 TAG: 9609190059
SECTION: REAL LIFE PAGE: K7 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: THE IMPERFECT NAVIGATOR
SOURCE: ALEXANDRIA BERGER
LENGTH: 71 lines
OUR DAUGHTER and daughter-in-law each gave birth to healthy baby boys the second week in September. Just two days apart, one baby was born in Cairns, Australia, the other in Fairfax, Va. We're very lucky grandparents. Nathaniel and Colin Joseph are perfect.
It could have been otherwise.
In the States, the advent of managed care puts newborns in jeopardy. Babies are released from the hospital 24 hours after birth with follow-up care monitored by home health care nurses. In our case the visiting nurse discovered Colin Joseph's bilirubin count (the measure of newborn jaundice, that yellow look) had reached dangerously high levels.
First, the nurse inaccurately reported the levels, stating they were above 20, the danger zone. They were actually 18. While the baby appeared severely jaundiced, jaundice in infants is not unusual. As the baby's system matures the jaundice rapidly disappears.
This nurse scared, panicked and traumatized the parents, not to mention us, the grandparents. Most important, if the bilirbuin count had been dangerously high, our new grandchild could have rapidly become deaf and mentally retarded, as well as suffering permanent loss of muscle coordination..
The parents immediately returned the baby to the hospital, but it was several hours before we knew everything was OK. Had the mother and child remained in the hospital for three days, none of this would have happened. What if there had been a hurricane or a snowstorm, with no home health care nurse available for several days?
Exposing the baby to sunlight or ``Bili Lights,'' similar to full-spectrum light bulbs, and, for nursing mothers, giving the baby supplemental formula quickly reverse the problem. In severe cases, exchange blood transfusions may be necessary.
Halfway around the world where there is no managed care, our other grandchild had that ``yellow look,'' too. As standard in Australia, the baby was kept in the hospital for three days until the jaundice began to clear, and it was evident he was just fine. Apparently, Down Under they know what's up.
Pediatricians agree that keeping a newborn in the hospital for more than 24 hours acts as a deterrent to the development of preventable disabilities. The United States is far from top of the list in preventing infant mortality.
For managed-care providers to add the risk of creating disabled children out of healthy newborns under the guise of saving money is just unacceptable. To create a perfect little life, then have the system trash it by too early hospital discharge and inaccurate follow-up surveillance means that less-expensive managed care risks life.
In an effort to provide shareholders dividends for their investment, for-profit insurers have vested little to provide subscriber's security. This is an ethical and moral outrage. Four states - Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and New Jersey - have enacted legislation forcing managed care providers to pay for stays longer than 24 hours. Should you currently have a policy that does not provide for longer care and reside in one of these states, upon the next anniversary date of your policy you are eligible to change this benefit with no additional fee. Check with your state legislature. Should you have a newborn, your insurance company would have to pay for a 48-hour status upon the physician or mother's request. And that is the way it should be.
For state legislatures to have to force insurance companies to do what is medically prudent is a travesty. In a world where we are developing new medical technologies daily, these insurers show greater respect for the almighty buck than for the Almighty's gift of healthy life, which we have charged them to protect with our dollars.
If you have had a similar experience or any problem with your insurance provider, remember you have recourse. Write your state's Insurance Commissioner a detailed letter outlining your complaint. I guarantee your voice will be heard. MEMO: Write the Imperfect Navigator, c/o The Virginian-Pilot, 150 W.
Brambleton Avenue, Norfolk, Va. 23510. by CNB