Unlawful actions by Sutter Health that discriminate against OOH: Copy of document to maternity patients notifying them that OB care will be refused if they are planning OOH birth

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An illegal action by California’s Sutter Health {Oct 2018} defined by NAFTA as an “disguised restriction of services“

An unfair & illegal business practice by California state law B&P Code 17200 – 17209

Below is:

• Transcript of  an official Obstetrical Consent Form dated 10/08/2018
• Politician Action Plan for California Residents  

In addition to the lawful documentation of patient consent for obstetrical services, the Sutter Health document goes on to informs their maternity patients that OBs covered by Sutter Health will withdraw their professional services whenever they find out that parents are planning an out-of-hospital/home birth.

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Sutter Health
Sutter Gould
Medical Foundation

OBSTETRICAL CONSENT FORM

1400 E. Briggemore Ave
Modesto, CA 95355

Larry Erickson, MD
Jon Post, MD
Masid Liva, MD
WhitneyLaciair, DO
Wilson Sava, MD
Eduardo Malvin B. Laguna Jr, MD

I ________________, understand and agree that one of the above aed physician will deliver y baby. The physician on-call will normally deliver after hours and on weekends.

I also understand that the prenatal fee quoted includes only the physician’s fees for prenatal office visits, normal vaginal delivery, and postpartum care for two month after delivery. Our fees do not include laboratory fees, pap smear, medication and injections, colposcopy and cervical biopsy, genetic studies, ultrasonography, non stress and stress tests internal and external fetal monitoring during labor , circumcision of infant, Cesarean section, assists fee for sutry, postpartum tual ligation, dilatation and curettage or in-office pregnancy test.

This list is comprehensive but not necessarily all inclusive.

I understand and agree that one of the above named Physicians will deliver my baby. The physician on call will normally deliver after hours and on weekends.

I also understand that the prenatal fees quoted includes only physician fees for prenatal office visit, normal vaginal delivery and postpartum care for 2 months after the delivery.

Our fees do not include laboratory fees pap smear medications and injections colposcopy and cervical biopsy genetic studies Ultra sonography non-stress and stress test internal and external fetal monitoring during labor circumcision of infant cesarean section assistance fee for surgery postpartum tubal ligation dilatation and curettage and in office pregnancy test.

{{The following content in the original document is a single paragraph. However, I have separated each of the four sentences to clearly identify the illegal anti-PHB statements constitute an unlaw and “disguised restriction of services”relative to midwifery care.}}

Additionally, I have been informed that Sutter Gould Medical Obstetricians do not support delivery at home because of the risks to both the mother and the baby are markedly increased when babies are born at home.

Planned home births result in double the infant death rate, lower apgar scores, higher maternal bleeding and higher risks for needing blood transfusions compared to women who plan on delivering their babies at the hospital.

I am aware that my delivery will take place at the hospital with which my insurance is contracted. Most insurance companies do not cover home birth.

If I plan to birth outside of the hospital setting, I will inform my doctor my plans immediately.

I understand that I will need to transfer my care to another doctor in a different Medical Group if I plan on delivering my baby outside of the hospital.

I understand that it is my responsibility to know whether or not my insurance company requires prior authorization for delivery if so I will let the assistant know in order for them to obtain prior authorization.

Patient signature __________________

Witness ________________________

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Political Action For California Residents:

Below are simple, step-by-step Instructions for writing a one (or at most, 1 1/2) page letter to California’s new insurance commissioner, Ricardo Lara.

I double-dare every single LM on the Google group email to write a letter. I certainly plan on doing so myself.

Letters should include a “cc” at the bottom, noting that copies of your letter and accompanying documentation are also being sent to the Medical Board of California and California Association of Licensed Midwives (CALM).

This notifies Commissioner Lara (via senior staff who reads the mail), that this issue is also being brought to the attention of the MBC and the state organization for California licensed midwives.

I encourage mothers and midwives living in the Sacramento to also “cc” the Sacramento Bee and likewise forward a of their letter to the newspaper. (address also below)

If CALM is currently working with a midwifery-friendly State Legislator, his or her senior assistant should get a copy of Sutter Health’s document and be informed about this grass-roots letter-writing campaign.

Where to begin:

(1) Copy the contents of this Sutter Health OB consent form into a WORD document and then print it out.

(2) Compose a one- (or 1 1/2) page cover-letter using this or a similar template for communicating with legislators and state regulators:

After typing the date, your address and that of the California DCA ~ Insurance Commissioner (full address below), use a “Regarding” (i.e., RE:) that quickly identifies the topic, some version of:

RE: Unlawful actions by Sutter Health targeting out-of-hospital birth services:

Enclosed copy of Oct 2018 Sutter document that refuses to provide OB prenatal care or childbirth services to pregnant women insured under the Sutter Health plan who are receiving concurrent care for a planned OOH birth, from a California licensed professional midwife (CNM or LM)

Then identify yourself in a sentence that includes (a) your age and gender, (b) length of California residency, and (c) your demographic category — concerned citizen, childbearing woman, parent, grandparent, midwife or other HC professional, and/or community-activist, etc.

In a sentence or two, explain why you believe Sutter Health’s policy is anti-competitive {{ California’s “Unfair Competition” law is B&P Code 17200 – 17209}} and violates the law and that you also find Sutter’s policy offensive on ethical and/or constitutional grounds. (see definition of B&P Code 17200 below that would apply to statements and scare tactics  used in the OB consent form.

(Examples: That Sutter’s stated policy drastically misrepresents the facts in relation to safety; the right of self-determination that applies to all mentally-competent adults regardless of gender, high CS rate associated with hospital-based obstetrics for healthy childbearing women and its associated dangers including significant increase in maternal morbidity and mortality, the unaffordability for those without health insurance or who have high co-pays, etc )

You can provide two examples, one that is more complex and includes informative statistics (quotes from MANA, LMAR, Childbirth Connection,  “Listening to Mothers Survey“, other published studies, etc) and a second topic that addresses issues such as the cost of EFM in light of the scientific literature, including ACOG’s 2003 Task Force on Cerebral Palsy and other studies that concluded (Female Patient April 2011):

“Despite the widespread use of EFM, there has been no decrease in cerebral palsy. … meta-analysis of randomized control trials has shown that EFM has no effect in perinatal mortality or pediatric neurologic morbidity.2 However, EFM is associated with an increase in the rate of operative vaginal and cesarean deliveries.1”

State that your letter represents a formal request to the California Department of  Insurance investigate your complaint against Sutter Health for violation of B&P Codes 17200-17209.  

End with something like:

“Thanking you in advance for attending to my complaint. I’m looking forward to a reply from CDI within the next 60 days

At the very end (after your signature), be sure to type in the lower case letters  “cc”, and list the agencies and organizations that you will be mailing xeroxed copies of both your letter and the Sutter Health OB Consent document.

Don’t forget to email a copy to Rosanna Davis, president, CALM.

 

 

 

MAILING ADDRESSES & REFERENCE MATERIALS 

B&P Code 172000 @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

California’s “Unfair Competition” Law. (Business & Professions Code 17200 – 17209) California’s “unfair competition” law prohibits false advertising and other anti-competitive practices. Lawsuits can be brought by either consumers or by businesses that have been damaged by a competitor’s unfair actions.

California Business & Professions Code §17200 prohibits any “unlawful, unfair or fraudulent business act or practice” and any “unfair, deceptive, untrue or misleading advertising.”Jul 12, 2017

EFM @@@@@

Quotable materials on the utter failure of policy mandating use of continuous EFM on healthy women with normal pregnancies and it’s high human and economic costs

@@@@@ ADDRESSES  for CDI & MBC @@@@@@@

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