By 2008, Medicare won't pay for hospital errors
In a move that should rock the industry, Medicare has announced it will stop paying for some hospital mistakes as of next year. Right now, Medicare pays for more than 60 percent of hospital acquired infections (HAIs), but this is no longer acceptable, agency leaders have said.
The new rules state the agency will stop paying for preventable complications, leaving hospitals left holding the bag for these fees. For example, CMS has banned payment for some HAIs, second surgeries to retrieve objects left behind or transfusions for patients who've been given the wrong blood type. It will also mean the agency won't pay extra for patients who have, for example, gotten injured by a fall in the hospital or develop bed sores.
To learn more about the new Medicare policy:
- read this Newark Star Ledger article
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Comments (4) | Post a comment Rate it:
Comments
By Mark Singh MD | Posted 10:23pm | September 19, 2007
Now that there could be financial consequences for bed sores, hospitals will need to document carefully the presence of any such wounds (or sores) on admission and discharge. I do not know how nursing homes will be effected by this new payment policy, but it will be in their interest to document the presence of wounds on admission and discharge as well. Wounds and bed sores are a significant area of liability and the oversight will only become more stringent with this new policy in place.
Mark Singh MD www.clinicore.com
By Sandra Higelin, MSN, RN, CS, CWCN, CLNC | Posted 10:49am | April 4, 2008
The documentation on admission is going to be required by the MDs as well as nursing. Education of Doctors is a must. In my experience many doctors never document anything about the pressure ulcers patients have. Even at Stage III and Stage IV.
By Cathy Nolan | Posted 11:42am | June 11, 2008
This should have been done a long time ago and maybe Medicare would not be in the shape that it is in now. Hospitals should be held financially liable for the mistakes they/their employees make and maybe the care would improve. Also maybe Medicare should look at other areas of coverage such as the ruling that hospitals are exempt from the Medicare outpatient caps for therapy and they charge so much more for the same treatment.
By anne | Posted 5:11pm | June 12, 2008
Cathy, thank you for your thoughts. I personally have no doubt that these payment changes will change hospitals' behavior. The thing is, if the hospital doesn't get paid, won't some eventually try to find ways to get the patient to cover the difference? It's possible we'll end up not lowering the expense, but rather shifting at least some of it to those with less resources. I hope I'm wrong about this, though!
-Anne Zieger, Editor
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