Though they won't implement this change immediately, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans have decided that they won't pay for serious errors and "never events" like wrong surgical procedures and leaving foreign objects in the body after surgeries. Over the next several years, the nation's 39 Blue plans intend to begin changing coding systems to make such events easier to identify in claims, according to Kevin Shanklin, executive director of the Office of the President at Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. At present, no Blue plans are currently refusing such payments. However, other major insurers are taking this tack, and CMS will stop paying for never events starting October 1, 2008.

To learn more about the Blues' plans:
- read this Modern Healthcare article [1]

Related Articles:
Businesses say "no pay" for major mistakes. Report [2]
CMS's McClellan tells Congress that Medicare shouldn't reimburse for never events. Article [3]
Other payors may follow CMS's 'no pay' lead. Report [4]
By 2008, Medicare won't pay for hospital errors. Report [5]