Bill mandates hospitals to disclose age they will provide life-saving care to preemies

A new bill aims to ensure parents know the minimum age at which hospitals are equipped to provide life-saving care to premature infants.

Key Takeaways:

• Hospitals vary in the care they are equipped to provide to premature newborns, with some able to offer life-saving care to babies born at 22 weeks and others unable to offer that care until weeks past this point.

• A Wall Street Journal investigation found that some preemies were denied care at hospitals when others nearby could have provided the care needed.

• The bill would require disclosure of the minimum age a hospital will provide life-saving care to preemies, as well as the steps it will take to ensure a mother and preemie are transferred to another hospital to receive the necessary care.

The Details:

The Neonatal Care Transparency Act was introduced to address a lack of transparency around hospital policies for treatment of premature babies. While some hospitals provide life-saving interventions to babies born as early as 22 weeks’ gestation, many only require lifesaving measures to be given at 25 weeks or later.

Under the bill, hospitals would be required to publicly disclose:

• The minimum age at which they provide life-saving care for premature infants.

• The process for transferring a baby and mother to another hospital if the facility is not equipped to deliver that care.

Healthcare practitioners would also be required to explain these hospital policies during an initial consultation with patients.

The bill was introduced by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Mississippi), and Rick Scott (R-Florida). 

The bill follows an investigation by The Wall Street Journal that revealed some hospitals had denied life-saving measures to premature infants, even when nearby hospitals were equipped and willing to provide care. In some cases, parents weren’t informed that their baby could have received treatment elsewhere. 

The bill is part of a recently introduced package of family-focused legislation, including proposals to ban toxic metals in infant formula and expand support for families who have experienced stillbirth.

It has received support from parent advocates and mom groups like TwentyTwo Matters, which crowdsources and shares information on U.S. and Canadian hospitals that offer care for infants born as early as 22 weeks. In absence of federal standards, such informal networks have become vital tools for families navigation premature birth. 

Hospitals that fail to disclose this information would become ineligible for Medicaid funding. Obstetricians would be required to inform patients of the premature birth policies at the hospitals where they have admitting privileges. 

Commentary:

“When faced with an early birth parents should be able to ensure that the delivery hospital is equipped and prepared to provide care for their child. This bill will provide parents with the information needed to welcome their child into the world safely,” said Sen. Cotton.

“Families shouldn’t face uncertainty during early labor about whether their premature baby will receive life-saving care from a hospital or not. When a baby’s survival is on the line, parents deserve clear information. I’m proud to support this legislation that requires hospitals to be transparent about their policies. It’s a commonsense measure that protects vulnerable infants and supports families in critical moments,” said Sen. Hyde-Smith.

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