- The hospitals located in State of Washington has joined the hospitals in the States of Massachusetts, Vermont, and Minnesota by agreeing not to bill patients or health plans for the cost of caring for the consequences of their own errors, so-called never events. Modern Healthcare.com reports that
The agreement applies to 28 of the most egregious adverse events such as operating on the wrong part of the body, or the serious injury or death of a patient from a fall. Out of a total of 600,000 hospital admissions in the state from June 2006 to July 2007, only about 180 such adverse events were reported to the state. The CMS and most major insurers have announced they will no longer pay for many of these so-called “never events.”
- OPM has posted its management response to its Inspector General’s latest semi-annual report to Congress.
- The AMA News hit the roof over a web site hosted by a Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota affiliate that allows people to post their reports about their personal health care experiences.
- The major consulting firm Towers Perrin has released its 2008 health care cost survey which is available for download.