Minnesota hospitals have decided to get on the 'no pay' bandwagon. The facilities have announced that they'll stop billing both public and private insurers for 27 preventable adverse events, including pressure ulcers, objects left inside surgery patients and medication errors, all "never events" identified by the National Quality Forum. Along with ambulatory surgery centers, the hospitals must already report never events to the state under an existing law.

The billing policy changes were developed jointly by the Minnesota Hospital Association and some of the state's health insurers, including HealthPartners and the state's Blue Cross Blue Shield plan.

To find out more about the hospitals' plans:
- read this Modern Healthcare piece [1]

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By 2008, Medicare won't pay for some hospital errors. Report [3]
Other payors may follow CMS's 'no pay' lead. Report [4]
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Study: Wrong-site surgeries, close calls are common. Report [6]