Medicare's Hospital Reimbursement Rule On Preventable Errors A Welcome Change, Editorial States
Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIPAlso Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 31 Aug 2007 - 14:00 PDT
email to a friend 
printer friendly 
opinions
In light of the "substantial" cost of medical errors, Medicare's new rule to refuse to pay the costs of preventable hospital errors will provide an incentive that should "help reduce the taxpayers' burden," a Washington Times editorial states. It continues, "It's not to say that hospitals are careless now, but the new rules will make them more diligent." The Times writes, "Hospitals will be more inclined to test for infections when a patient is admitted in order to show that the infection wasn't a result of substandard hospital care," concluding, "While hospitals can complain about the increased cost of additional tests, this is overall a good change to Medicare policy" (Washington Times, 8/28).
Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation© 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Visit our medicare / medicaid / schip section for the latest news on this subject.
MLA
11 Feb. 2012. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/80875.php>
APA
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/80875.php.
Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.
|
Rate this article: (Hover over the stars then click to rate) |
Patient / Public: |
or |
Health Professional: |
Visitor Opinions In Chronological Order (1)
Bush Should Force Restitution Of Medicare Funds Paid For Harm Done
posted by Gregory D. Pawelski on 31 Aug 2007 at 2:29 pmBrian R. Klepper, Ph.D., The Center for Practical Health Reform, stated recently on The Health Care blog that Fee-For-Service (FFS) reimbursement has been disastrous for the American health care system because, instead of encouraging the delivery of the RIGHT products and services, it simply encourages MORE, and independent of quality and safety. The system lacks transparency, so we haven't been able to distinguish appropriateness from inappropriateness. As a result we pay for everything, rewarding excess. The industry has seized on this and cultivated excess as a core value. It's a big part of why we're in the fix we're in today.
But FFS' other insidious impact is that it has enabled - in the clinical sense - doctors and hospitals to engage in behaviors fundamentally counter to their patients' interests as well as their own. FFS has allowed physicians to remain in small practices where they lacked the scale to invest in information technology tools, group purchasing or offshore medical malpractice arrangements. As a result, care in the little practices that currently dominate the medical landscape is often more expensive and of lower quality than is typical in larger practices.
As reported in the Washington Times article, "the extra revenues received by the providers for care caused by their own neglect constitute "perverse payment incentives."....HealthGrades estimates that Medicare paid more than $9.3 billion to cover the costs associated with medical errors suffered by Medicare beneficiaries during 2002-2004. At this rate, Medicare is paying over $3 billion per year to hospitals for substandard care. If you add nursing homes and outpatient clinics to the mix, the cost only escalates."
[Amen, amen!! As we say, poor care pays more, whether it's a doctor, hospital or nursing home.]
Add Your Opinion
Please note that we publish your name, but we do not publish your email address. It is only used to let you know when your message is published. We do not use it for any other purpose. Please see our privacy policy for more information.
If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.
All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam)
Contact Our News Editors
For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.
Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:
Note: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.
Privacy Policy |
Terms and Conditions
MediLexicon International Ltd
Bexhill-on-Sea, United Kingdom
MediLexicon International Ltd © 2004-2012 All rights reserved.
