Policies & Babies

Reading this Journal-Sentinel article about premature babies, I was struck by how expensive they are.

In Wisconsin, prematurity cost BadgerCare Plus, the state health plan for families and pregnant women with limited incomes, $81 million in the 2010 fiscal year and more than $300 million over the past four years

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When one realizes that caring for an infant born at 24 weeks can exceed $630,000, and that in totality, including special education, lost productivity, etc., premature babies cost at least $26.2 billion (as of 2006) nationally, one has to think that there has to be a way to reduce all this cost.

While medicine has not arrived at a single prescription to prevent prematurity, experts say there are measures that have been shown to reduce rates and save money.

Programs that help women stop smoking, stay off drugs, maintain a healthy weight and reduce rates of chronic illness ultimately translate into fewer preterm deliveries. Medications, such as progesterone gel for women with a short cervix, have also shown great promise in reducing prematurity.

This is the sort of thing that a program I pointed to yesterday can help with.  Efforts to help guide people through the confusing health care system, to ensure they receive preventive care and are educated, can save us money down the road.

But in the eyes of some, that'd be big government and socialism.