Lucille Roybal-Allard: “For 5 months this Congress has debated how best to address the looming crisis of our national deficit. While the debate…”

“For 5 months this Congress has debated how best to address the looming crisis of our national deficit. While the debate has often been partisan and polarized, one thing we Democrats and Republicans agree on is that addressing our national health care expenditures is a critical part of the solution. A major component of the escalating health care costs in this country is maternity care. The cost of maternity care for mother and child in the U.S. is more than double that of any country in the world. But despite the exorbitant amount of money we spend on maternity care, the U.S. ranks far behind nearly all developed countries in maternal and infant outcomes. Sadly, childbirth continues to have significant risks for mothers and babies, especially in communities of color. Many factors contribute to these poor outcomes and high costs. The most disturbing by far is the fact that there is a vast body of knowledge regarding best evidence- based maternity care, yet current U.S. practice does not follow that research. This results in the widespread overuse of maternity procedures, including cesarean sections and scheduled inductions, which credible evidence tells us are beneficial only in limited situations. Unfortunately, the overuse of these practices results in longer maternity hospital stays and multiple costly procedures that contribute to making combined mother and infant childbirth charges our most costly hospital and Medicaid expenditures.…”