Caesarean section may have insurance risk

NEW YORK, June 1 (UPI) -- Giving birth through Caesarean section may result in higher health insurance costs for some U.S. women, health officials say.

International Caesarean Awareness Network President Pamela Udy said with the number of women seeking individual health insurance rising in the United States, along with the number of Caesarean sections, such insurance problems are likely increasing, The New York Times reported Sunday.

"Obstetricians are rendering large numbers of women uninsurable by overusing this surgery," said Udy, whose organization is attempting to limit unnecessary Caesarean procedures.

"You have women just caught in the middle of this huge triangle of hospitals, insurance companies and doctors pointing the finger at each other," she said of related rising insurance costs.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida official Randy M. Kammer said any rate hikes due to Caesareans would only be a temporary increase.

"After five years, if there is not a complication of pregnancy, another C-section, or if they get their tubes tied and are no longer in that risk situation, that rate-up goes away," the vice president for regulatory affairs and public policy told the Times.