Please let Congress know that The Medicaid Birth Center Reimbursement Act has physician support.
August, 2009
Dear Senators and Representatives:
We, the undersigned physicians, are concerned about access to health care for pregnant women served by our Medicaid system. Each of us either serves as a consultant/collaborating physician for a freestanding birth center or midwife practice, or wishes to express support for the concept of freestanding birth centers and consumer access to midwifery care. We have signed this letter to show our support for federal legislation that would restore Medicaid funding to birth centers.
Just as hospitals have various costs – for supplies, equipment, salaries of nurses and other staff, overhead – that are already reimbursed by Medicaid, freestanding birth centers incur similar costs. Both hospitals and birth centers are facilities where Medicaid recipients may be admitted to give birth but, at the present time, only hospitals are eligible for reimbursement of Medicaid fees. Not only is this discrepancy unfair to Medicaid recipients who would prefer to deliver their babies in birth centers, it is also a serious public health issue whether viewed in terms of outcomes or cost savings for the Medicaid system. Many birth centers in the U.S. serve patient populations that include a high percentage of Medicaid recipients, some as high as 75% to 90%.
Outcomes: Several highly-regarded studies have demonstrated that birth centers have excellent outcomes, including birth centers that serve low income and other vulnerable populations noted for their health disparities. Citations to these studies are provided as an attachment to this letter. Birth centers have low cesarean section rates. They are also particularly good at reducing the incidence of low birth weight and preterm newborns and at helping mothers initiate and continue breastfeeding for their infants. As physicians, we are well-satisfied that birth centers provide high quality care for the women they serve.
Cost Savings: As the attached summary regarding the D.C. Developing Families Center demonstrates, birth centers not only improve maternity care, they do so in a cost-efficient manner. Funding birth centers will result in long-term cost savings because babies delivered at birth centers tend to be healthy and do not require the expensive services of Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU). A recent report, Evidence-Based Maternity Care: What It Is and What It Can Achieve, jointly published by the Childbirth Connection, the Reforming States Group, and the Milbank Memorial Fund, points out that birth center charges are considerably lower than hospital charges for birthing services.
As physicians who care about preserving access to quality health care for all women and newborns in the United States, we have joined together in support of this legislation. We urge you to co-sponsor and support this bill.
Respectfully,
Elizabeth Alleman, MD - Family Practice- Columbia, Missouri
Barbara Levin, MD, MPH - Family Practice - Madisonville, Tennessee
Charles S Mahan, MD, FACOG - Obstetrics - Tallhassee, Florida
Daniel R Taylor, DO - Pediatrics - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mark Shwer, MD - Neonatalogy - Phoenix, Arizona
Stanley Fisch, MD - Pediatrics - Harlingen, Texas
Michael Feigal, MD - Family Practice - Menomonie, Wisconsin
Elizabeth Stifel, MD - Family Practice - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
James Haddock, MD, FACOG - Obstetrics - Annapolis, Maryland
Mark Repka, MD, FACOG - Obstetrics - Annapolis, Maryland
Richard, Welch, MD - Obstetrics - Annapolis, Maryland
Claudia Hays, MD, FACOG - Obstetrics - Annapolis, Maryland
Frederick Guckes, MD, FACOG - Annapolis - Arnold, Maryland
Pablo Argeles, MD, - Obstetrics - Annapolis, Maryland
Suleika Just-Buddy Michel, MD, FACOG - Annapolis - Arnold, Maryland
Joy'el Ballard, MD - Obstetrics - Annapolis, Maryland
Elizabeth Greely, MD, MPH - Obstetrics - Annapolis, Maryland
Wendy Barr, MD, MPH, MSCE - Family Practice - New York, NY
Lawrence Monahan, MD - Internal Medicine - Roanoke, Virginia
Lawrence Monahan, MD - Internal Medicine - Roanoke, Virginia
Valerie King, MD, MPH - Family and Preventive Medicine--Portland, Oregon
George Kovacevic, MD, FACOG - Obstetrics - Cape Coral, Florida
Josh Gettinger, MD - Family Practice - Madisonville, Tennessee
Janice M Anderson, MD - Family Practice - Monroeville, Pennsylvania
Nola Westphal, MD - Family Practice - Menomonie, Wisconsin
Joseph L. Castelli, Jr., DO, FACOG – Obstetrics – Bryn Mawr , Pennsylvania
Despina Soppas, MD, FAAP – Pediatrics – Drexel Hill , Pennsyvlania
Lauren Plante, MD, MPH, FACOG – Maternal-Fetal Medicine - Philadelphia , Pennsylvania
Willard Hearin, MD - Lawrenceville, Georgia
James Nelson Gingerich, MD - Family Practice - Goshen, Indiana
Jeffrey K. Carlson, MD, FACOG - Obstetrics - St. Petersburg, Florida
Melanie Hayden, MD, MAS - Santa Rosa, California
Dominic Cammarano, DO - Obstetrics - Reading, Pennsylvania
Rachel Eash-Scott, MD - Family Practice - Lancaster Pennsylvania
David Hyler, MD - Obstetrics - Orange Park, Florida
Julie Mai DO - General Practice - San Diego, California
Michael Wong, MD - Obstetrics - San Diego, California
Blanca Fresno, MD - Pediatrics - Chula Vista, California
Thomas Simpson, MD -Family Practice - Sterling, Kansas
James Decker, DO - Family Practice - Sterling, Kansas
Libby Schaeffer, MD - Family Medicine - Santa Rosa, California
Janice Anderson, MD - Family Practice - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Mahnee Dinsmore, MD - Obstetrics - Trinity, Florida
Ashley Weinert, MD - Obstetrics - Santa Rosa, California
Kai Qi Wu, MD - Obstetrics - Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
Myrna Ortega MD FACOG Obstetrics - Arnold, Maryland
Bruce S. Gneshin, MD, FACOG - Obstetrics - Baltimore, Maryland
Patricia Nevils, MD - Gynecology - Lafayette, Louisiana
Darrel C Robinson, MD -Obstetrics - Lafayette, Louisiana
Stacey Kerr, MD - Family Practice - Santa Rosa, California
Katrina Walters, MD - Family Practice - Plato, Missouri
Matthew Scott Doughty, MD - Family Practice - Marquette, Michigan
Martin Seltman, MD - Family Practice - Wilkensburg, Pennsylvania
Laura L Norrell MD - Obstetrics - San Francisco, California
Alice Rothchild, MD - Obstetrics - Boston, Massachusetts
Kathleen Garde, MD - Obstetrics - Anacortes, Washington
Shahab Abdessalam, MD - Pediatric Surgeon - Omaha, Nebraska
Larry Leeman, MD,MPH-Family Medicine/Obstetrics - Albuquerque, New Mexico
Kristen Solana Walkinshaw, MD - Family Medicine - Anchorage, Alaska
Kimberly Fordham, MD- Family Practice - Kelseyville, California
Tracey Beverley, MD - Family Practice - Madisonville, Tennessee
Eve Shapiro MD, MPH - Pediatrics - Tucson, Arizona
Anne Drapkin Lyerly, MD, MA - Obstetrics - Durham, North Carolina
Heidi Reetz, MD - Family Medicine - Santa Rosa, California
Leonard Block, MD - Surgeon - Elizabethtown, North Carolina
Audrey Stillerman, MD - Family Medicine - Chicago, Illinois
Elizabeth Feldman, MD, FAAFP - Family Practice - Chicago, Illinois
John Bettler, MD, Family Practice, Zuni, New Mexico
Stuart J. Fischbein, MD, FACOG - Obstetrics - Camarillo, California
Leah Anderson, MD - Family Practice - Duluth, Minnesota
Donna Jasper, DO, - Obstetrics - Annapolis, Maryland
Marsden Wagner, MD, MS - Perinatalogist - Takoma Park, Maryland
Nancy Armetta MD, FAAFP - Family Practice - Waynesboro, Tennessee
Leon Schimmel, MD - Obstetrics - Davis, California
Carol Coulson, MD - Obstetrics - Asheville, North Carolina
Jeanette Carpenter, MD - Family Practice - Moseley, Virginia
Nichelle Whitehead, MD, FACOG - Obstetrics - Phoenix, Arizona
James R Young, MD - Family Practice - Cedar Falls, Iowa
Martha Salyers, MD, MPH - Family Practice - Asheville, North Carolina
Roger Hicks, MD - Emergency Medicine/Family Practice - Marysville, California
Eowyn Rieke, MD, MPH - Family Practice - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Ellen Boyd, MD - Clinical Genetics - Asheville, North Carolina
Neal Devitt, MD - Family Medicine - Santa Fe, New Mexico
Tim Moore, MD, FACOG - Obstetrics - Taos, New Mexico
William Davis, MD - Family Practice - Winters, California
Katharine Morrison, MD - Obstetrics - Buffalo, New York
Wail Malaty, MD - Family Practice - Hendersonville, North Carolina
Shanti Mohling, MD, FACOG - Obstetrics - Taos, New Mexico
Kay Nelsen, MD - Family Medicine - Sacramento, California
Linda Frison, MD - Obstetrics - Eugene, Oregon
Pamela Panum, MD - Obstetrics - Eugene, Oregon
Kristen Solana Walkinshaw, MD - Family Medicine - Anchorage, Alaska
John Cooper, MD - OB Anesthesia - Columbia, Maryland
I. Ray King, MD - Obstetrics - Ft Walton Beach, Florida
David S. Hoskins MD, MPH, FAAFP, ABFM - Family Practice - Minden, Nevada
Tami Michele, DO - Obstetrics - Fremont, Michigan
Gayle Borkowski - Obstetrics - Goshen, Indiana
Gordon Roget, MD - Obstetrics/Gynecology/Plastic Surgery - Lodi, California
Barry London, MD - Tucson, Arizona
Kenneth Green MD - Family Practice - Baltimore Maryland
Brenton R Smith, MD, FAFFP - Family Practice - Riverdale, California
Kevin Grant, MD - Pediatrics - Folsom, California
Charles Bailey, MD - Pediatrics - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Megan Hough, MD - Obstetrics/Gynecology Resident - Albuquerque, New Mexico
Randall Morgan, MD, FACOG - Obstetrics - Wichita, Kansas
Arti Chandra, MD, MPH - Family Practice - Seattle, Washington
Paul Gast MD - Emergency Medicine/Family Practice - Seattle, Washington
Alan J. Reinach, MD - Pulmonary /Critical Care Medicine - Meadowbrook, Pennsylvania
Joann Moschella, DO - Family Practice - Santa Cruz, California
Raymond L. Cox, MD - Obstetrics - Baltimore, Maryland
Evan Telpow, MD - Family Practice - Lawrence, Massachusetts
Lisa Lichtig, MD- Family Practice- Asheville, North Carolina
Geeta Maker-Clark, MD - Family Practice - Ventura, California
Louis Pollack, MD - Neonatology - Seattle, Washington
Sarita Bennett, DO - Family Practice - Marlinton, West Virginia
Douglas Hadley, MD - Interventional Radiology - Oakland, California
Scott Beatse, MD - Obstetrics - Elkhorn, Wisconsin
Anne Eglash, MD, IBCLC - Family Practice - Madison, Wisconsin
Jill Mallory, MD - Family Practice - Madison, Wisconsin
Dahna Goldberg, MD - Obstetrics - Columbia, Maryland
Meaghan Combs, MD, MPH - Family Practice - Madison, Wisconsin
Jessica Dably, MD - Family Medicine - Madison, Wisconsin
Marra Francis, MD - Obstetrics - The Woodlands, Texas
Charon Gentile, MD - Obstetrics - Hauma, Louisiana
Marjorie Greenfield, MD - Obstetrics - Cleveland, Ohio
Lara Knudsen, MD MPH - Family Medicine - Madison, Wisconsin
Laurel Walter-Baumstark, MD - Family Practice - Hermann, Missouri
Sandra Minchow-Proffitt, MD - Family Medicine - St Louis, Missouri
Jennifer Phillips MD - Family Practice - Albuquerque, New Mexico
Claire Wendland, MD, PhD, FACOG - Obstetrics - Madison, Wisconsin
Claudia Hart, MD - Neonatology - Phoenix, Arizona
Timothy R Carle, MD - Family Practice - Durham, North Carolina
Martha Carlough, MD - Family Practice - Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Jessica Allen, DC - Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics- Anchorage, Alaska
Chris Sherman, DC, MPH - Chiropractics - Plainfield, Indiana
Susan Ehrsam, MD - Family Practice - Asheville, North Carolina
Sharon Benattabou, MD - Family Medicine - Bronx, New York
Jill House, DC - Chiropractic - Lockport, Illinois
Christopher Lafferty, MD - Obstetrics - La Mesa, California
Michelle Brunnabend, DO - Women's Health - Hemet, California
Carlos Flores, MD - Neonatalogy- Tucson, Arizona
Heidi Rinehart, MD, FACOG - Obstetrics - Ithaca, New York
Dana Schonberg, MD - Family Medicine - Bronx, New York
Pushpa Larsen, ND - Naturopathic Medicine - Seattle, Washington
Jamie Loehr, MD - Family Practice - Ithaca, New York
Jill Kuhn, PhD - Psychologist - Ft Collins, Colorado
Lise Weisberger, MD - Family Medicine - Chicago, Illinois
Dana Duclo - Psychologist - Tucson, Arizona
Iman Bar, MD - Pediatrics - Costa Mesa, California
Charles W Moniak, MD - Obstetrics - Newport Beach, CA
Elizabeth N Siffel, MD - Family Medicine - Pittsburgh, PA
John C. Perry, MD, FACOG - Obstetrics
Ellis Parker Waller, Jr., MD, MBA - Monona, WI
Deborah L. Moore, MD - Centennial, CO
Jessica Illuzzi, MD, MS, FACOG - Obstetrics - New Haven, CT
Micheline Chu, MD - Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility - Manhasset, NY
Rebecca Cunningham, MD - Internal Medicine - Boston, MA
Ann Wu, MD MPH - Pediatrics - Lexington, MA
Eve Colson, MD - Pediatrics - Woodbridge, CT
Kristina M. Rath, MD - Obstetrics - Hamden, CT
Rachel Light, MD - Woodbridge, CT
Karen Archabald, MD- Obstetrics - Providence, RI
Leah Swann, MD - Family Medicine
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