Hospital Demanded Cash for Anesthesia, Probe Finds

A state investigation found San Dimas Community Hospital forced poor women in labor to pay cash for epidural anesthesia during childbirth, a county health official said Tuesday.

In a continuing probe of hospitals, San Dimas becomes the sixth area hospital discovered to have demanded cash for anesthesia from women in labor.

Northridge Hospital Medical Center, where the practice was first discovered, still appears to be the hospital where the majority of cases have occurred. The four other hospitals which demanded cash for the anesthesia are Whittier Hospital Medical Center, Providence Holy Cross Hospital in Mission Hills, Queen of Angels-Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, and Pomona Valley Hospital, said Ken August, spokesman, California Department of Health Services.

State health administrators have stated that physicians and hospitals are prohibited from charging Medi-Cal patients for services the agency covers.

At San Dimas Community Hospital, Los Angeles County health officials investigating a complaint confirmed that anesthesiologists refused to provide epidurals to Medi-Cal patients until payment was received.

In one case which occurred in March, a woman in labor was admitted to San Dimas and endured more than four hours of severe pain until her family provided cash payment to the anesthesiologist.