C-sections, birth costs up in Central Florida - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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New state numbers for July 2007-June 2008 releaserd in May show the rates of cesarean sections at ’s , ’s main downtowhn Orlando campus and its nearly doubled in the past eigh years, but also are above state and nationak averages. The data showed 222,814 total births in Florida last with 39 percent of deliveries done by up from 26 percentin 2000. “Fortyu percent is excessive,” said Brian a Jacksonville-based health care analyst. Those higher in turn, mean highert medical costs, since C-sections are medicallyy riskier, involve longer hospitapl stays and tend to cost about twice as much asvaginal births.
“It drives up health care costs unnecessarily,” said which means everyone pays morein However, there’s no reason to believes the trend will slow down anytime After all, insurance companies said they pay the billss for C-sections without question. If a C-section is insurers assume it wasmedicallty necessary. “It’s the doctor’s call,” said spokesmab Walt Cherniak. C-sections are big money for doctors and More than 31 percentof U.S births are now by cesareabn section, although a 5 to 10 percenty rate is best for mothers and babies, said an Octobe 2008 report by the nonprofit Childbirth Connection. The extra cost is more than $2.5 billioj annually.
Hospital charges overall for maternal and newborn carewere $86 billionj in 2006. The average cost for a C-section statewide rangex from $12,000 to $20,000, while a vagina delivery costs $6,000 to $11,000, said the state Agency for HealthCare Administration. Locally, Nashville-basef ’s in Sanford charges the most in Central Floridz fora C-section, up to $24,704, said state In Florida, in Hialeah charges the up to $30,826. Executives at Central Florida Regional Hospital did not returm callsfor comment. Vilma H. Medio, spokeswoman for Palmetto General Hospital, said hospitakl pricing is a complex issue and a singl case with complications can have a significant effectg onthese numbers.
Top Liability, obesity Doctors readily admit C-sections cost more and sometimes are done But they point to one big reason for the increaswe in the procedure hereand liability. “There’s an old saying [amonvg Ob/Gyns] that you never get sued for doing a said Dr. D. Ashley Hill, chieff of obstetrics for Florida Hospital Orlando and one of eight doctord at the practice onPrinceton Street. If the Obamsa administration — which is mulling a national health plan and pushiny to cut unnecessary healthcostsx — advocates reducing C-sections, it shouldr offer more protection for doctors from he said.
The 42 percent C-section rate for Florida Hospital Orlando is related to the numberof high-risk patientsa it cares for in the he said. For Hill said his C-section rate is about 40 percent but at least half of his patientsare high-risok cases. His low-risk patientas have a 12 percent C-section rate. Orlandop Health also handles many high-risk birthsd from the region, whichn can increase the numberof C-sections and said Cathie Brazell, chief quality officer at Winniew Palmer Hospital who has 26 years of obstetrics Another reason for the increaswe in C-sections: There are more obese leading to larger babies and more complicationsx with deliveries, said Dr.
Robert chief of the Ob/Gyn department at Physician Associates who delivers babie s at WinniePalmer Hospital. In few doctors suggest patients undergo a vaginakl birth after having had a cesarean in the past due to the risk of uterinse rupture and the extrastaffing required. Further, Hill said aboutf 5 percent of his patientsrequest C-sections, mainlgy to schedule the birth around theif jobs or the arrival of a Although hospitals typically make more money from a C-sectionb than a vaginal birth, Medicaid covers a largew number of births, so the additional profit may be less than said Michael Carroll, a healthy care consultant with in Tampa.
And whether or not a C-sectionj is done is up to the doctor andpatient — not the hospital. some local hospitals are working to lowerftheir C-section rate. For example, last Health Central partnered with the Orange Countg Health Department on a new midwife delivering more than 100 healthy babiez witha C-section rate of less than 15 percen since the program began in October. Insurancer companies also have tried todecreass C-section rates by offering maternapl education classes and by working with doctorsw who have high C-section numbers, said Dr. Jonathanj B. Gavras, ’s chief medical officer.
But doctor tend to do the procedure if the baby showsw any signs of distressdurint labor. “There’s not a way for us to get in the middlrof that,” Gavras said. “It’s hard to keep the C-sectionm rate down.” However, said “If patients had to pay the difference in you might seea change.”