Cigna won't pay for 'never events'
ANOTHER INSURER has said it will no longer pay for hospital treatment required after egregious mistakes made by hospital staff.
Cigna HealthCare announced it is taking steps to stop reimbursing hospitals for so-called “never events” and avoidable hospital conditions.
Cigna said it is following the lead of other major payers, notably the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
CMS has already announced that it would not reimburse providers if beneficiaries suffer from eight preventable in-hospital errors beginning October 1.
The original list of never events consists of objects left in the body during surgery, air embolisms and blockages, blood incompatibility, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, pressure ulcers, vascular catheter-associated infections, chest infections after coronary bypass graft surgeries and hospital-acquired injuries like fractures.
Recently, Wellpoint Inc. announced that its 14 state Blue Cross Blue Shield plans would not reimburse hospitals for serious, preventable medical errors.
Earlier in the year, Aetna Inc. announced it was adopting a policy of not paying for medical mistakes.
