The issue as it was presented in our local papers was that Medicaid
requires the states to cover all prescription Medications. This prevents
the states from lowering  the standards of care to certain individuals that
may have expensive health problems. For example, if a state says that that
won't pay for a certain drug, what will the next drug be that won't be
covered? Thus, Federal  Medicaid maybe  trying to insure a standard of care
on a national basis. 

A more important issue, perhaps, is that standards of Medical Care are
slipping in the United States. If someone has a legitimate health problem,
appropriate therapy should be available and paid for whether the problem is
mastitis or erectile dysfunction.

Breastpumps and Breastfeeding Services, when appropriate, should be paid
for by insurance. It is up to us in the lactation community to educate the
gatekeepers and insure that these legitimate items are covered. Maybe we
need to do a better job at educating those invoved.

Richard Weston
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Medela Inc.