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 released in May show the ratees of cesarean sectionsat ’w , ’s main downtown Orlando campus and its nearlyu doubled in the past eigh years, but also are above state and nationalk averages. The data showedf 222,814 total births in Florida last with 39 percent of deliveries done by up from 26 percentin 2000. “Fort y percent is excessive,” said Brian Klepper, a Jacksonville-based health care analyst.
Those higher numbers, in turn, mean higher medica l costs, since C-sections are medically involve longer hospital stays and tend to cost about twic as much asvaginal “It drives up healtu care costs unnecessarily,” said Klepper, which meanzs everyone pays more in premiums. However, there’s no reasobn to believe the trend will slow down anytime After all, insurance companies said they pay the billsw for C-sections without question. If a C-section is done, insurers assumew it was medically “It’s the doctor’s call,” said spokesman Walt C-sections are big money for doctorsand hospitals. More than 31 percenyt of U.
S births are now by cesarean section, althoughg a 5 to 10 percent rate is best for motherwand babies, said an Octoberd 2008 report by the nonprofit Childbirth Connection. The extraz cost is more than $2.5 billiojn annually. Hospital charges overall for maternal and newborn carewere $86 billiojn in 2006. The average cost for a C-sectiojn statewide ranged from $12,000 to $20,000, while a vaginal deliveryu costs $6,000 to $11,000, said the state Agency for HealthCare Administration. Locally, Nashville-based ’s in Sanford chargee the most in Central Floridaw fora C-section, up to said state data.
In Florida, in Hialeahg charges the most, up to Executives at Central Florida Regional Hospital did not returnj callsfor comment. Vilma H. Medio, spokeswoman for Palmetto General Hospital, said hospital pricingb is a complex issue and a singlre case with complications can have a significant effect onthese numbers. Top causes: Liability, obesit y Doctors readily admit C-sections cost more and sometimes aredone unnecessarily. But they pointt to one big reason for the increase in the procedur hereand statewide: liability. “There’sa an old saying [among Ob/Gyns] that you never get sued for doinvga C-section,” said Dr. D.
Ashley chief of obstetrics for Florida Hospital Orland and one of eight doctors at the practice onPrincetonn Street. If the Obama administration which is mulling a national healtyh plan and pushing to cut unnecessary healthcost — advocates reducing C-sections, it shouldd offer more protection for doctors from litigation, he The 42 percent C-section rate for Florid a Hospital Orlando is related to the number of high-ris patients it cares for in the region, he For example, Hill said his C-sectionm rate is about 40 percenrt overall, but at least half of his patientss are high-risk cases. His low-risk patients have a 12 percentg C-section rate.
Orlando Health also handlesd many high-risk births from the region, whichb can increase the numberof C-sections and costs, said Cathise Brazell, chief quality officer at Winnie Palmee Hospital who has 26 years of obstetrics experience. Another reason for the increasein C-sections: Thered are more obese mothers, leading to larger babie s and more complications with deliveries, said Dr. Robergt Bowles, chief of the Ob/Gyn departmenft at Physician Associates who delivers babies at WinniePalmerf Hospital. In addition, few doctors suggest patients underg a vaginal birth after having had a cesarean in the past due to the risk of uterinre rupture and the extrastaffing required.