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’Never events’ getting no more payment

Ambulatory Surgery Reimbursement Update, January 18, 2005

If it's never supposed to happen, then the hospital shouldn't get paid if it does. That's the message one insurer sent when it recently enacted a new hospital payment policy to address the occurrence of "never events."

The policy, implemented by Minnesota-based HealthPartners beginning January 1, 2005, states that payment to a hospital will be stopped if a "never event" occurs.

"Never events" are medical errors that should never happen to a patient. The new policy from HealthPartners only applies to hospitals and covers the 27 "never events" defined by the National Quality Forum (NQF).

"We all agree that patients should not pay for medical care made necessary by one of these errors," said George Isham, MD, medical director of HealthPartners, in a statement issued on the HealthPartners Web site. "This is especially important as consumers are asked to bear more of the costs of their care through premiums, deductibles, and co-payments."

"Never events" include leaving a foreign object in a patient after surgery and surgery performed on the wrong body part.

To read about Minnesota's 27 "never events," click here.

To read more about HealthPartners new policy, click here.

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