The informed choice act would allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to nonprofit community based medical clinics for the purchase of ultrasound equipment to provide free examinations to pregnant women needing such services.
Political influences of the Bill:
This bill will act as a political intervention by extending prenatal care and diagnostics means to all women. If this bill is passed, women would have the ability to seek out care for themselves and their baby with disregard to having adequete funds or availibility to such technology. The government's ability to provide funding for ultrasound and examination in tax-exempt, non-profit clinics could change prenatal care as we know it today.
Potential Impact of the Bill:
According to a scholarly article written by Alana Juman Blincoa "Ultrasounds are able to pick up defects in very early periods of gestation and when acted upon can ensure that the mother is in a position to have a number of options open to her." (Blincoa,2006) If the bill is passed and the government provides funding for ultrasound, examinations, and education for expecting mothers it would significantly impact "the health and economics for both families and their healthcare sytem."(Bincoa,2006) If the bill is passed, clinics can allocate their funding to other services the community needs. Because ultrasounds are very expensive, this would help clinics provide services to women who previously may have not had access to recieve them. In turn, this would increase the amount of education these women are provided with regarding the options concerning their pregnancy.
According to the Informed Choice Act the potential impact on clients receiving an ultrasound would be, "each pregnant woman will be given, according to the best medical judgment of the physician performing the ultrasound examination or the physician’s agent performing such exam, the approximate age of the embryo or fetus considering the number of weeks elapsed from the probable time of the conception of the embryo or fetus, based upon the information provided by the client as to the time of her last menstrual period, her medical history, a physical examination, or appropriate laboratory tests."
As of now, medical clinics are based on services at little or no cost to the uninsured and under insured. Clinics accomplish this through the use of volunteer health professionals and other community volunteers. Services are made possible only through the donation of services, volunteers, and community donations. Funding is raised primarily on the local level and there is little to no government support and funding for clinics. The Informed Choice Act would help clinics receive grants for ultrasounds, for example ,"No grant under subsection (a) may be made in an amount that exceeds an amount equal to 50 percent of the purchase price cost of the ultrasound machine involved, or $20,000, whichever is less. Also, it would provide, " The entity will obtain and maintain medical malpractice insurance in an amount not less than $1,000,000, and such insurance will cover all activities relating to the use of the ultrasound machine purchased with the grant under subsection (a)."
I just wanted to say that I am pleased to finally see a bill in legislation that is going to hopefully provide free exams for disadvantaged pregnant women and the Informed Choice Act, if passed, is going to have a huge impact on prenatal health care for the part of the population that possibly needs it the most. Over the last couple years I have worked in two different Women's Health offices, both of which shocked me when patients would come in at 34 weeks for their very first new-OB check-up appointment. I asked why and they followed to say that either their insurance did not approve the prenatal care, their insurance did not get back to them soon enough, or they simply did not have insurance or the money to pay for the appointments. The risk these babies have for having defects, preterm births, or other fetal complications is astronomical without education and proper prenatal care.
ReplyDeleteTo have ultrasound equipment in a non-profit clinic, free of charge to those in need, is an ideal situation and I only hope this bill gets passed because it could make an incredible difference. Did you say this bill would include labs and new-OB workups for the women? Or just the ultrasound?
We share Courtney's enthusiasm for this bill that, if passed, will provide much needed prenatal care for all pregnant women. It seems to us that many women who do not get the proper prenatal care for their child are looked down upon in society. However, at times this is merely due to circumstance and the inability of the woman to pay for care. This bill has tremendous potential to eliminate many problems for the mother and child during and after birth, just by providing education and care that each pregnant woman and her child deserves.
ReplyDeleteFrom the supporters of HB 1588: Autism Spectrum Disorder; Mandated Health Insurance Coverage
I have to agree with both Courtney and Sarah. Making this service available to these women will have such a positive impact not only on health care, but also in the lives of these women and their children.
ReplyDeleteI currently read a novel titled "Push", which is about a young African-American girl, Precious, and her journey through life. Though her story is a bit extreme - just warning you if you are interested in reading - she is a prime example of someone who would benefit from this bill being passed. Precious is a pregnant teenager living with her mother who is on welfare, she's not doing well in school, and there are also daddy-issues. As I said, her story is extreme, but one can see how education and information would have guided her in the right direction from the start.
Getting back to this bill... I feel that, as Sarah said, this bill would eliminate so many problems for the both the mother and child during pregnancy simply through proving education to the mother/parents. Screening for fetal complications early on in the pregnancy would aid in the mother making a more informed choice about continuing the pregnancy should that situation ever arise. All too often other factors get in the way during the decision-making, such as finances.
I say we all "push" to get this bill passed.
Courtney, according to the Bill, "Each pregnant woman upon whom the ultrasound equipment is used will be shown the visual image of the fetus from the ultrasound examination and will be given a general anatomical and physiological description of the characteristics of the fetus. Secondly, each pregnant woman will be given, according to the best medical judgment of the physician performing the ultrasound examination or the physician’s agent performing such exam, the approximate age of the embryo or fetus considering the number of weeks elapsed from the probable time of the conception of the embryo or fetus, based upon the information provided by the client as to the time of her last menstrual period, her medical history, a physical examination, or appropriate laboratory tests. Lastly, each pregnant woman will be given information on abortion and alternatives to abortion such as childbirth and adoption and information concerning public and private agencies that will assist in those alternatives."
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thepregnancyzone.com/tests-and-procedures/know-the-importance-of-pregnancy-ultrasound-from-conception-to-childbirth/
ReplyDeleteThis is another blog discussing the importance of ultrasound testing from conception to child birth. I feel it is a good resource for everyone to check out regarding the benefits of ultrasound testing if this bill were to be passed!
Ultrasounds are one of the most effective ways to monitor fetal growth throughout pregnancy, therefore this is an extremely important component to ANY woman's prenatal care, whether she is poor or rich. When and if free clinics are able to provide ultrasounds, it would promote women to utilize this extremely important service resulting in more informed mothers. When mothers have more information about their pregnancy they are able to make better decisions for themselves and their fetus.
ReplyDeleteAs we have learned in it has been proven that prenatal care does reduce the risk of preterm labor, miscarriages and children born with birth defects. By providing these services free of charge to women who are unable to pay for the services it would greatly decrease the incidence of complications to women and children in this population.
We, as other groups have mentioned, are very supportive of this bill and believe that it would be very beneficial to serving this population to reduce pregnancy complications and promote prenatal care to women who regularly would not be able to afford it.
I believe that all women should be able to know the health of their baby and proper prenatal care is key. Ultrasounds are one of the best ways to monitor the baby throughout the pregnancy and provide a great deal of important information. The information provided to the prospective mothers will assist them in preparing for their baby and making educated decisions. Providing good prenatal care for all women especially ultrasounds may reduce the infant mortality rate. However, because ultrasounds are so expensive not all women are able to have them. The Informed Choice act would provide free ultrasounds and education which are a big part of prenatal care and something that all women deserve to have access to.
ReplyDeletePregnancy especially for first-time moms is stressful, so the idea that a woman can feel that she has more control during her pregnancy is good. Having a child born with an anomaly would be difficult to deal with, especially if the parent was unaware of their child's anomaly. All mothers could be that much more prepared for a child with physical deficits if they had access to ultrasounds. My only question after reading your legislation is as follows: Is there a certain level of income that a woman (and her family) must be below before she qualifies to benefit from this legislation?
ReplyDeleteI support the Informed Choice Act. Often times the women who cannot afford prenatal care are the ones in most need of education. These women are often in need of teaching, and are uneducated on nutrition and risk factors that can place their infant at risk. For these reasons it is essential that all women be given the opportunity to receive proper prenatal care, including the important process of ultrasounds. These ultrasounds will help the mother determine the health of the fetus and measures that need to be considered if any adverse affects are noticed. The health of the fetus and expecting mother should be the primary concern for health care providers. Any means that will help determine their safety should be done regardless of socioeconomic factors. This bill will ensure the safety and health of expecting mothers and their infant.
ReplyDeleteI think that this bill is a great idea and has the potential to make a huge difference in healthcare for pregnant women. I think that ultrasounds are a very important part of care in pregnancies. It not only can detect abnormalities but can also give women the chance to see their child and for many pregnant women this is a huge step during their pregnancy. I think that anything we can do to improve the fetal and maternal health is worth doing. It is also important to educate the parents on their options should a situation arise. I think that today we have such a large number of uninsured patients that we need to continue making improvements in our free clinics. My only question is, if this bill is passed does it state how long it would take to begin being enforced? I fully support this bill and hopes that it passes!
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