On July 23, along with Sens. James DeLeo (D-Chicago) and Arthur Berman (D-Chicago), I announced legislation to stop women from being rushed out of the hospital in as little as 12 hours–or even six hours–after delivering a baby. A day later, I received several calls from Chicago-area women who say their own health and the well-being of their child suffered because of the baby’s premature release.
Your July 31 editorial calling for the medical marketplace to decide how long a woman should stay in the hospital missed the key point in this debate. Our legislation says that if an Illinois mother requests inpatient hospital care for 48 hours following a vaginal delivery or 96 hours after a Caesarean section, that hospital stay could not be denied if they have health insurance or are covered under Medicaid.
This bill does not mandate medical coverage. The early discharge of newborns has become a problem because the insurance industry dictates to a physician and the patient what medical care will be offered. This legislation frees up and removes interference in medical decisions. This bill does not preclude a woman from leaving in less than 48 hours. It only says the decision to go home should be made by the woman and her doctor, not by an insurance company.
Many prominent Chicago physicians support the bill because they know a premature discharge can be damaging to the child. A growing number of Massachusetts babies sent home from the hospital in 24 hours or less are being inadequately tested for potentially devastating but treatable conditions that lead to mental retardation and other problems.
Women who have just delivered babies are often weak and exhausted. With the increasing number of single-parent families, mothers should not be rushed out the door to return home to an empty house.
As the father of five children, I think we need to make sure our families get off to the right start.
