I am sorry to see that we value our service so little.  In this US culture
we seem to value in relation to the dollar.  If we value our time and
experise so little that we are willing to almost give it away, then we
cannot expect others to value it either.

The rates for lactation consultation that I have seen are appalling.  The
rates at our lactation center -- which are too low, by the way -- are
considerably higher than any I have seen on lactnet.  We value our clinical
service.  So do our physicians, patients, and payers.  Our reimbursement
rate has been fairly good, and it has not been the charge amount that was a
problem when a service was not covered.

I realize that many of us have moved from the volunteer sector working with
LLLI to the clinical arena in a hospital or private practice and that it is
hard to get over giving it away.  That "hang-up" can be "gotten over" to
the benefit of the professional, the profession, and the patient.

Pardee Hinson, MPH, IBCLC
Carolinas Lactation Center
Charlotte, NC
704-542-0891