From the Headlines: Medicare Won't Pay for Mistakes

Starting October 1, 2008, Medicare will no longer reimburse hospitals for preventable errors that could be avoided if hospitals followed proven preventive procedures or common-sense precautions. If a surgeon leaves a sponge inside the patient during a routine surgery, Medicare won't pay for the secondary procedure to retrieve the sponge. Furthermore, the hospitals will be prohibited from billing patients or insurers for these charges. The hospitals must absorb the expenses.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 270 people a day - or 99,000 patients every year - die from infections they acquired after they entered the hospital. The Agency for Health Care Research and Quality has found that about 32,000 patients are injured annually in hospitals, often from preventable medication errors - when patients are given too much or too little medication or the wrong drug entirely.

Let's face it, accidents happen. Humans are, by nature, error prone. But in an environment of escalating costs for healthcare, something has to give. Someone has to be held accountable.

This bold move by Medicare is sure to raise debates both pro and con. If I were a gambler, I'd bet my next paycheck that within a year of the new Medicare rule taking effect private insurance companies will institute similar rules.