California Elder Law Attorney Blog

In October 2008, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) began requiring hospitals that receive federal funding from Medicare and Medicaid to begin disclosing "never events." CMS has stated that they will no longer reimburse hospitals for any costs associated with never events, and hospitals are prohibited from passing costs onto the patient.

What are Never Events?
Never events are a series of medical errors that are defined by CMS as, "clearly identifiable, preventable, and serious in their consequences for patients, and that indicate a real problem in the safety and credibility of a health care facility." Included in the CMS financial year 2009 list of never events that will be denied federal reimbursement are the following medical errors:

List of Never Events covered under the FY 2009 provision
Object left in patient during surgery
Air embolism
Blood incompatibility
Catheter-associated urinary tract infection
Pressure ulcers
Vascular-catheter-associated infection
Surgical site infection (specifically mediastinitis after coronary artery bypass graft surgery)
Hospital-acquired injury due to external causes (fractures, dislocations, intracranial injury, crushing injury, burns, and other unspecified effects)

Obviously, never events can be quite costly for hospitals. Yet some occur much more frequently than others. Preventing bed sores can be difficult, but are preventable with treatment and appropriate monitoring.