Medicare to Halt Payments for Mistakes
As early as Fall 2008, Medicare is considering implementation of a policy that would not reimburse healthcare providers and facilities for care necessitated by error. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is particularly considering a list of conditions that should be prevented with appropriate and adequate safety measures, including infections to central lines or reactions from receiving a transfusion of the wrong blood type.
This is an aggressive approach to ameliorate a system fraught with errors. The open comment period for the public to respond to CMS plans will reveal the medical community’s temperature on this approach.
One question is whether Medicare’s refusal to pay will be translated to a patient’s own pocketbook. When insurers refuse payment, healthcare organizations may go after patients as the responsible party. What will happen to patients in this instance?
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May 23, 2007 Related topics: Legal & legislative, Trends