Business
WellPoint: No pay for "never events"
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted April 21, 2008
WellPoint announced on April 2 a systemwide policy to not reimburse for so-called "never events."
The list of never events, developed last year by Leapfrog Group, includes errors such as operating on the wrong body part, leaving objects in the body after surgery, blood incompatibility and hospital-acquired injuries such as fractures or dislocations.
Leapfrog called on the country's hospitals last year to develop policies to not charge for costs associated with never events. Since then, several insurers have developed policies to not reimburse for charges associated with these events.
WellPoint said its policy is only the first step in handling never events, and said it might modify this policy in the future.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/04/21/bibf0421.htm.
