More Insurers Say "No Pay" to PMEs

A few months back we asked if the tides were turning. Now it appears those waves are gaining momentum.  No longer isolated to Insurance Companies' Aetna and Wellpoint, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in New Hampshire announced Thursday that it will no longer pay for Preventable Medical Errors (PMEs).

According to the article: "Anthem called the move an initiative aimed at working toward eliminating preventable major adverse medical events in order to lower health care costs.

From the standpoint of Donna Fitts, the vice president of Quality and Risk Systems at Portsmouth Regional Hospital, this decision by a major insurance carrier will have a positive impact on hospitals across the state, including her own. 'It will force us, in a very busy medical environment, to stop and take stock of the things we do,' Fitts said. 'It is crystal clear that many of these things are errors that should never occur in a hospital."

According to Anthem: "The primary focus of these efforts will be to ensure that physicians and hospitals are using appropriate processes, technologies and strategies to address 'never events' and, ultimately, to enhance the quality of care delivered to hospitalized patients," said Richard Lafleur, M.D., medical director, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in New Hampshire. 'We continue to work collaboratively with physicians and hospitals to analyze why and how these events occur, and to proactively find ways to improve patient safety and clinical care.'

In addition to improving patient safety and quality outcomes, Lafleur added that the initiative will help protect Anthem's members from additional costs resulting from medical errors. 'As a strong advocate for patient safety, we have a responsibility to our members to work with our hospital partners to put processes in place that focus on preventing these events,' said Lafleur."

Full article here.