Dr. Dettwyler asked:

>  Why not just buy the formula at normal retail
>prices and then add it to the bill?

   <snip>

> Why
>is formula so different?  Why not just charge the patients?  The hospitals
>could still agree to exclusively use one company's products.....

I think the problem may be the specter of managed care.  As insurance
companies begin to pay a flat fee for services such as vaginal or c-section
deliveries, it won't matter what's added to the bill, because any charges
that exceed the flat fee just won't be paid.  Hospitals will have to agree to
accept whatever the negotiated rate is and won't be able to bill the parents
for anything.  Therefore, hospitals must cut costs wherever they can, and not
paying for formula is one of those ways.  At least, that's how it has been
explained to me, when I've asked my boss the very same question.

I've heard the free formula saves our hospital about a quarter of a million
dollars a year, and when Baby Friendly principles go head to head with that
much of the institution's money.....  :-(

I was quite interested in the post about some Australian hospitals requiring
moms to bring formula with them when they come in to deliver, but our
population is about 40% indigent women, who might not be able to do that, so
I don't think that would work for us, either.

Judy Dunlap, RNC, IBCLC