Health Insurers To Refuse Payment, Billing For Care Related To Hospital Errors

We knew this would come along with Medicare setting the pace...if the contract is up for renewal, hospitals can look for some new clauses from the insurance companies...BD

Several private health insurers, such as Aetna and WellPoint, have moved to end reimbursements to hospitals for treatment that results from serious medical errors, the Wall Street Journal reports. The insurers also will not allow their members to be billed for hospital errors.

In hospital contracts that require renewal, Aetna has begun to include a provision that ends reimbursements for 28 "never events" outlined by the National Quality Forum. In Virginia, WellPoint has begun to test a similar policy that ends reimbursements for four never events, and the company plans to expand the policy to Georgia, New England and New York in the near future. UnitedHealth Group and Cigna have considered policies similar to the CMS rule.