THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 27, 1996 TAG: 9609270562
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: 55 lines
Declaring an end to ``drive-through deliveries,'' President Clinton signed a bill Thursday ensuring two-day hospital stays for new mothers and their babies.
The law also bars insurers from setting separate coverage limits for mental and physical illnesses.
``This law is common sense, and now it is the law of the land,'' Clinton said in a Rose Garden ceremony attended by families whose stories helped spur Congress to act.
Signing the new-moms law offers the president an election-season political boost. White House polls show wide support for the idea, particularly among women.
The new law also ensures that children of Vietnam veterans born with the birth defect spina bifida can get medical care and rehabilitative training through the Veterans Administration. Research has shown a link between spina bifida and exposure to Agent Orange, a chemical used in the Vietnam War.
``This is truly a landmark day in our efforts to strengthen our families, our community and our future,'' Clinton said.
Noting that the legislation passed Congress with support from both parties, Vice President Al Gore called it ``a victory of reason over partisanship.''
The health insurance industry, however, takes a dim view of the federal mandates.
``Insurers don't pay the cost of a mandate. Purchasers of health coverage do,'' said Richard Coorsh, spokesman for the Health Insurance Association of America, which represents about 250 insurers and which had opposed the legislation.
Coorsh said he had no estimate of how much the new law would add to insurance costs, but that in most cases it would be an extra burden on businesses.
Labor Secretary Robert Reich, whose department will enforce the new law, said any increased insurance cost would be offset by the provision's benefits.
Insurance-related provisions of the new law, which take effect Jan. 1, 1998, are part of a broader $84.7 billion appropriations bill for 1997 housing, environmental, space and veterans' programs.
Under the legislation, health plans must cover hospital stays of at least 48 hours for women who give birth naturally and up to four days for those who deliver by Caesarean section.
It also removes inequities in mental health coverage by requiring the same aggregate and annual payment limits for mental illnesses as for physical illnesses. It does not require that health plans cover mental illness.
Inclusion of the provision applying to Vietnam veterans' children born with spina bifida marks the first time offspring of American servicemen and women will receive government benefits for combat-related health problems.
KEYWORDS: TWO-DAY HOSPITAL BABY by CNB