THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 7, 1996 TAG: 9603070016
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 29 lines
Del. C. A. Woodrum, D-Roanoke, and Del. Robert Tata, R-Virginia Beach, have introduced bills that would require insurance companies to extend the length of hospital stays for maternity patients after delivery. If passed, these bills would grant at least 48 hours of hospital coverage after a vaginal birth, and 96 hours after a Caesarean-section delivery.
As a senior nursing student at Old Dominion University, I support the proposed bills. Some insurance companies will pay for only 24 hours in the hospital after a delivery, and this practice may compromise the health of new mothers and their babies. Each delivery is different, with various outcomes; some women may need extra time to recover. If these bills are passed, then individuals will be given that extra time.
I recommend that the public write letters of support on this issue. Women and newborns all over Virginia will benefit if these bills are passed.
SHAUNITA RATCLIFF
Portsmouth, Feb. 22, 1996 by CNB