Anesthesia Coverage and Lawsuits.

Lawyers in Los Angeles, California are charging a local anesthesiologist with having two standards of care--one for women with insurance and one for women without it.

Ozzie Chavez, one of seven women involved in the suit, claims that the anesthesiologist at Northridge Hospital Medical Center asked for cash because MediCal, the state's insurance, did not pay enough for epidurals. Chavez's lawyer stated, "They left her there screaming in pain while she's begging for medication." Chavez says she offered a credit card, a check, and a Western Union confirmation number to compensate for the $400 requested by Dr. Lori Burke, the anesthesiologist. All were refused.

Dr. David J. Birnbach, president of the Society for Obstetric Anesthesiology and Perinatology, called the incidents "morally reprehensible."

Private insurance companies pay approximately $175 to $300 for the insertion of an epidural, and $35 to $60 for each additional fifteen minutes. Medi-Cal pays $57 for the insertion, and about $14 for each additional fifteen minutes. Contract anesthesiologists at Northridge decided they would not accept MediCal epidural payments because the reimbursement was so low.

Lawyers for Dr. Burke would only say that she did nothing wrong.

--Associated Press, June 1998