Pam wrote:  "...why can't formula for a bottle-fed baby be added to the list
of chargeable items?"

I working a hospital in Rochester, New York.  Here insurance companies reimburse hospitals under the DRG (diagnostic related groups) system.  For each diagnosis (childbirth, newborn care, gall bladder removal, broken leg, etc.) there is a pre-set amount that is paid to the hospital to cover the cost of care of the patient with that diagnosis.  If the expenses to the hospital are less than that amount, the hospital makes a profit.  If the expenses for the individual patient are more than that amount, the hospital loses money.

Some items are "chargeable items" and are individually billed to the patient's account.  However, this amounts to just an internal bookkeeping exercise.  The insurance pays only the DRG amount.  The list of charges helps the hospital to lobby insurance carriers for increased reimbursement for the DRG, by showing how much it actually costs to take care of the patient.

Barb Berges BS, RN, IBCLC
Rochester, New York

             ***********************************************

To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]

The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html