European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 30, 1978, Darmstadt, Hesse Critics talk of Cost Benefit Premier How much is a child s life Worth by Cindy Rose associated press i or. Hersh i Haven t been promoted to decide what kids Aren t Worth t Cost s 150.000 to keep Matthew Amis alive who he was born weighing just 25 2 ounces. The Prioste Mark David numans life was a Barg Aliu i but some medical authorities Are questioning the Worth of the highly specialized Neo Natal cat tar did l sae premature babies like Matthew and Mark one Way to explain the problem is to pose the Oue lion just what is a Newborn baby or. Albert Jorisen. Associate professor of Bidet Lipics at the University of California school of Medicine at san Francisco wrote a medical article. The medical techniques that have brought stat greater Hope for Premier have also produced a deep ethical dilemma for both physicians and parents. While the Cost Benefit ratio of Neo Natal intensive care is difficult to establish it is hardly Loo soon to a whether the immense Effort is warranted when the of suits or individuals and for society Are so at variety children s Hospital Miami. Or. Carol Hersh scoffs at such theories As the kind of nonsense we get from doctors sitting at a desk who never Deal with the baby and his parents " the Amis Home san Francisco Matthew is not i1. Years old and perfectly Normal except Forbes age bit Small for his age. He spent his first eight Mont Hsini Neo Natal care unit and had to have oxygen at Home until August. Matthew s Worth All of si50.000 although i could t really put a Price what he s Worth to us said his father. Albert a warehouseman who paid about $150, the deductible the Hospital Bills. The rest was picked up by group insurance and califor Nia s crippled children s society. At the other end of the scale is Mark Youmans. Bora a month prematurely he was rushed from Titusville fun. To the Neo Natal unit at variety where he was successfully treated for Hyaline membrane disease a common lung condition of premature Tobies. Whether the Cost is s 150.000 or s5.000, insurance frequently fails to meet the High Cost of special care. While neighbourhood blood drives bazaars and cookie sales hop some families Over the insurance hurdle Public funds provide hospitals with Money for Neo Natal care units. Florida for example. $-1.4 million Public funds were appropriated for the year to help defray costs. But it t enough to pay Alt the Bills. Derrick Depriest. Born with respiratory problems was released from variety where his Hospital care topped . His Mother. Cheryl took him Back to the Hospital recently to celebrate his first birthday. There was no better place to have his birthday party with the nurses and doctors who saved his life she says beaming at her healthy and Active Lazo ran up 55.000 Bills one month at Vari Ety. There is no system the world that can me sure the Worth of a child s says his Mother. Ulna. He s 22 months old now. We thought a was t going to make it. It s a Miracle that we Bat him. That makes him very the Hospital Bills for Kliu both and Jennifer Wesolow ski of Pembroke Pines. Fla. Topped $80.000. The Are now 2 years old. Both Are beauties Elizabeth still a a lung problem she May outgrow these infants were saved because of Nei Nal ology. A highly Spei i Allied. Expensive care that is giving we u thousands of babies who. Only i few years ago. Nave died Neo Natal units Are is up m must states primarily Cunnis red with Annei my medical school Al ,111,1 wi-., n,.n ii, my free stale i ii Plumi i.ih-, i iii.,� not i there is e
