Clinton Signs 2-Day Maternity Stay Into Law
Declaring an end to “drive-through deliveries,” President Clinton signed legislation Thursday ensuring two-day hospital stays for new mothers and their babies.
The law also bars insurers from setting separate coverage limits for mental and physical illnesses.
“This law is common sense, and now it is the law of the land,” Clinton said in a Rose Garden ceremony attended by families whose stories helped spur Congress to act.
Signing the legislation offers the president an election-season political boost. White House polls show wide support for the idea, particularly among women.
The new law also ensures that children of Vietnam War veterans born with the birth defect spina bifida can get medical care and rehabilitative training through the Veterans Administration. Research has shown a link between spina bifida and exposure to Agent Orange, a chemical used in the war.
Noting that the legislation passed Congress with support from both parties, Vice President Al Gore called it “a victory of reason over partisanship.”
The health insurance industry, however, opposed the legislation’s two-day-stay mandate.
“Insurers don’t pay the cost of a mandate. Purchasers of health coverage do,” said Richard Coorsh, spokesman for the Health Insurance Assn. of America.
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