Sen. Stabenow's Zinger on Health Care

A little advice to any insurance agents out there trying to lure Sen. John Kyl (R-Ariz.) away from the government-subsidized congressional health plan to a private plan: Don't pitch him anything that includes prenatal coverage -- Sen. Kyl won't be requiring it.

As David Sessions wrote, in a hearing before the Senate Finance Committee Friday, Sen. Kyl criticized legislation that would bar insurance companies from excluding some benefits. After Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) complained that 60 percent of health insurance companies refuse to cover prenatal care, Sen. Kyl responded: "First of all, I don't need maternity care, and so requiring that to be in my policy is something I don't need and will make the policy more expensive." Stabenow promptly cut him off. "If I could just point out one thing to my colleague -- I think your mom probably did."

Insurance companies have excluded pregnant women from coverage by labeling it a pre-existing condition, but -- with denial of claims for pre-existing conditions under fire -- many companies have also inserted a clause in their policies that maternity care won't be covered. The reason is simple: the cost. Even discounting other prenatal care costs, a delivery alone typically costs thousands of dollars, and any complications can easily drive the cost into the five-figure range. Singling out women to bear the costs of pregnancy is not only unfair though, it's also short-sighted. According to a letter written to the Senate by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, $1 spent on prenatal care saves up to $5.19 in medical costs later on.

Here's the video of the exchange (Via TPM):