Government
Employers support nonpayment for "never events"
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted March 23, 2009
A majority of employers say their companies' health plans should adopt nonpayment policies for certain preventable medical errors -- known as never events -- if Medicare has already done so, according to survey results released Feb. 24 by the nonprofit Midwest Business Group on Health.
Nearly 80% of the more than 50 employers and other health care purchasers responding to the survey said plans should stop paying for services stemming from errors or related complications once Medicare officials have made the determination that the events should never occur in a hospital. MBGH is actively involved in hospital performance and public reporting efforts in Chicago.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in July 2008 finalized a list of 10 hospital-acquired conditions, including certain pressure ulcers and catheter infections, for which it limited inpatient payment starting in October 2008. In January 2009, CMS finalized three national coverage determinations to end Medicare pay for surgeries involving three major errors -- surgery on the wrong patient, surgery on the wrong body part and the wrong surgical procedure.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2009/03/23/gvbf0323.htm.
