Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Recently, most state legislatures and Congress have passed laws mandating insurance coverage for a minimum period of inpatient care following delivery. This study analyzed the likely cost implications of one state's law. METHODS: Hospital discharge records for Illinois women who gave birth (n = 167,769) and infants born (n = 164,905) during a 12-month period predating the law were analyzed. RESULTS: As a percentage of total spending on birth-related admissions and readmissions, the net effect of the law ranges from a savings of 0.1% to a cost of 20.2%. CONCLUSIONS: There may be large cost implications to this legislation, even with savings from avoided re-admissions.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Braveman P., Egerter S., Pearl M., Marchi K., Miller C. Problems associated with early discharge of newborn infants. Early discharge of newborns and mothers: a critical review of the literature. Pediatrics. 1995 Oct;96(4 Pt 1):716–726. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Britton J. R., Britton H. L., Beebe S. A. Early discharge of the term newborn: a continued dilemma. Pediatrics. 1994 Sep;94(3):291–295. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Catz C., Hanson J. W., Simpson L., Yaffe S. J. Summary of workshop: early discharge and neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. Pediatrics. 1995 Oct;96(4 Pt 1):743–745. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Declercq E., Simmes D. The politics of "Drive-through deliveries": putting early postpartum discharge on the legislative agenda. Milbank Q. 1997;75(2):175–202. doi: 10.1111/1468-0009.00051. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Dershewitz R., Marshall R. Controversies of early discharge of infants from the well-newborn nursery. Curr Opin Pediatr. 1995 Oct;7(5):494–501. doi: 10.1097/00008480-199510000-00003. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Kessel W., Kiely M., Nora A. H., Sumaya C. V. Early discharge: in the end, it is judgment. Pediatrics. 1995 Oct;96(4 Pt 1):739–742. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Kun K. E., Muir E. Drive-by deliveries. Influences on state legislators. Public Health Rep. 1997 Jul-Aug;112(4):276–283. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Liu L. L., Clemens C. J., Shay D. K., Davis R. L., Novack A. H. The safety of newborn early discharge. The Washington State experience. JAMA. 1997 Jul 23;278(4):293–298. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]