[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 67 (Thursday, May 13, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5473-S5474]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. COLEMAN:
  S. 2417. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize 
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish care for newborn children 
of

[[Page S5474]]

women veterans receiving maternity care, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
  Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. President, the Veterans Administration has taken 
remarkable strides over the years to adapt to the increasing number of 
women veterans using VA facilities. As of 2002, there were 
approximately 1.5 million women in the Armed Forces and 20,000 of these 
women are from Minnesota. Many of these soldiers want to start families 
when they return home and will need to use their VA healthcare coverage 
for obstetrics care.
  Currently, a woman can use her VA coverage for prenatal care, 
delivery and postnatal care. The VA will enter into a contract with a 
hospital to provide these services, but the VA cannot provide any 
coverage for the baby after it is born. The baby is uninsured until a 
hospital social worker or the parents can arrange for private 
healthcare coverage, or in most cases, for the baby to receive Medicaid 
assistance. This period of time, which in some cases can reach 2 weeks, 
is very stressful for all the parties involved.
  Today, I have introduced a bill that will allow the VA to provide 
coverage for veterans' babies for up to 14 days after delivery in a VA 
hospital or VA contract facility. This will help care for these 
children during the time needed to secure long-term coverage outside of 
the VA system.
  This bill will also make it easier for the VA to find willing 
hospitals. Today, many hospitals are reluctant to offer services to an 
insured mother and an uninsured baby. If both the mother and the baby 
were covered by the VA, hospitals in the veterans' local community 
would be more likely to accommodate them. Finally, I am hopeful that 
over time this legislation will save money for VA by eliminating extra 
surcharges and fees to hospitals which currently cover their liability 
for delivering an uninsured baby.
  I firmly believe that veterans who have gone through the traumatic 
experiences of war should not have to worry about the health of their 
newborn babies because of bureaucratic glitches in the system. This 
bill will cut the red tape surrounding the delivery rooms and ease the 
burden on our veterans who want nothing more than to bring children 
into the free society which they helped protect and defend.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2417

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. CARE FOR NEWBORN CHILDREN OF WOMEN VETERANS 
                   RECEIVING MATERNITY CARE.

       (a) Authority To Furnish.--Subchapter VIII of chapter 17 of 
     title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 
     the following new section:

     ``Sec. 1786. Care for newborn children of women veterans 
       receiving maternity care

       ``The Secretary may furnish care to a newborn child of a 
     woman veteran who is receiving maternity care furnished by 
     the Department for up to 14 days after the birth of the child 
     if the veteran delivered the child in a Department facility 
     or in a non-Department facility pursuant to a Department 
     contract for the delivery services.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of chapter 17 of such title is amended by adding at 
     the end following new item:

``1786. Care for newborn children of women veterans receiving maternity 
              care.''.
                                 ______