The article is written a woman OBGYN-OP and discusses the complaints of a new father, who was charged 40 dollars for himself and his wife to hold their newborn during a C-Section procedure. The article openly explains how costly this procedure could seem, and how the bill reads can often be a PR nightmare. There is also coverage of how the cost of birthing a child has increased exponentially—it is jokingly mentioned that inflation is awful. The article considers the relations between hospitals and those that they serve, and how they are providing a service which is a transaction. She touches on possible need for CT scans, sedatives, staffing and after care, which ultimately adds to the hospital bill. In this specific case, the request for skin to skin contact with the child added the forty dollar fee—and this is for the extra nurse who was there as support staff to ensure the baby was unharmed. The child could have easily been dropped, smothered or handled poorly due to the mother being inebriated because of the drugs that had been used. She contemplates that as a mother and a doctor she has conflicted feelings on the charges that a visit like this can ensue. There is often a tenuous relationship with patients and their medical care, and that both sides often left unsatisfied with the outcome. The article featured a picture of the bill that has gone viral through social media, as an outcry to what has occurred. The man cannot contest the bill since this was a viable cost to the hospital, but it increases awareness to these charges for those who have not had this experience.
Oct 172016