A Life Worth Fighting for
A Life worth Fighting For There are many babies that are born early; many mothers do everything they can to stay pregnant until at least 27 weeks. There are just some things that can’t be stopped. There are many families that rely on insurance companies to help out with that cost, but more and more insurance companies are trying to or are turning down premature babies that are born before 27 weeks. Should insurance companies be able to turn down a premature baby because of the risk of being sued? Many hospitals even have doctors that will not help the baby if the insurance will not help out.
Many mothers cannot control when they have a baby. There are many hospitals that even tell the mothers that she is fine and that she is just having Braxton Hicks, but in all honestly she is having actual contractions. There are Terbutaline shots that doctors could use to help stop the contractions if they would actually listen to women. There are also different procedures that can be done to stop from someone’s water breaking. There are more and more insurance companies, especially private companies that are trying to turn down babies that are born before 27 weeks.
Private insurance companies sometimes have lower deductibles, but there are a lot of things that they are trying to leave out so they do not have to cover. Companies think that preemies before 27 weeks are a liability and if they helped cover the charges and the baby did not make it that the family would go after them and put them out of business. Sadly many companies are finding that either way they can get sued. There are insurance companies that are turning down preemies; making it so the child does not have a fighting chance at life. With insurance companies turning down preemies, the companies should help pay for abortions.
The companies are pretty much stating they rather a fetus not have a chance than to try and help pay for a preemie or a child with a down syndrome. There are some states like Oregon and Arizona (Abortion Facts) that have abortion laws that are banning abortion, if a state is going to ban abortion than they should make all the insurance companies that are used in that state cover an infant no matter what. Many insurance companies especially private ones are at a higher liability with covering a child born before 27 weeks. There are some many risks that insurance companies could be faced with.
For a premature baby to stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for even two days the hospital bill would range from $25,000 to a $100,000. Many insurance companies don’t see any type of outcome from that. They think that a family with a low deductable should have to pay more each month for insurance if the family expects them to pay that much for their child. There are also many “big named” companies that think spending that much on a baby is ridiculous. Yes, to someone that child may be their only child or only chance at having a baby. Insurance companies look at the long run.
Either the deductable is going to go up or the monthly payment is going to go up. Why should we have insurance companies if they are going to have the option of what they cover when the situation arrives? There have been insurance companies that have been sued for babies that do not make it because they were limited the help and the medication the baby was receiving. On the other hand, there are also insurance companies that are getting sued due to turning down a baby and the baby surviving. Many insurance companies if they cover having a baby that early will only support or help pay for certain things.
There are a lot of tests like Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (Premature Infant) that the child needs done and insurance companies refuse to pay for but if the child doesn’t have the tests done than the doctors don’t know what exactly they need to do to help the baby live. Therefore, there are many babies that do not make it due to an insurance company turning down certain things. There have also been many insurance companies that have been sued for turning down helping a family and the child makes it. It is neglect on the insurances part for not giving the chance they deserve.
There are quite a few doctors (Smith) (Graham) that refuse to help babies that early because of insurance companies, but there are also doctors that believe a child that early does not have a chance. In 2008 Sara Capewell gave birth to a little boy that the doctors had refused to help or send to the NICU because she was at high risk of having a premature baby and they had told her not to have any more children. (Smith) So the insurance companies are part of the reason infants do not receive proper care, and there are insurance companies get “lucky” because the doctor refuses to help the family out.
There are doctors out there that are only in the profession for the money. They don’t care if they are saving a life or not they just want the “big” paychecks every two weeks. They think that if an insurance company isn’t going to help pay for the care of a baby that early than the hospital won’t get the money making so they don’t get paid. So they turn down families that have no control over the situation. Many mothers are sent home to have the baby so they can have their time with the baby when the infant doesn’t make it.
How unfair is that to not even give a child a chance because they are worried about not getting paid. Well insurance companies think that they are “lucky” for there being doctors like that. It makes the hospital look bad not the insurance companies. Every child should have a chance to live. If insurance companies are not going to help a family or mother give that child a chance at life then the insurance company should really look into assisting with birth control and abortion fees. Every child has the right to fight for their life and an insurance company should be there to help no matter what the case is.
Works Cited Allen, Vanessa. “‘Doctors Told Me It Was against the Rules to save My Premature Baby'” Mail Online. 10 Sept. 2009. Web. 22 Mar. 2012. . “Facts About Abortion: State Abortion Laws (U. S. ). ” Abort73. com / Abortion Unfiltered. 10 June 2010. Web. 22 Mar. 2012. . “Premature Infant: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. ” U. S National Library of Medicine. U. S. National Library of Medicine, 28 Feb. 2012. Web. 22 Mar. 2012. . Smith, Graham. “England’s Healthcare System Allows Premature Babies to Die. ” Godlike Productions. 08 Sept. 2009. Web. 22 Mar. 2012. .
