Although they are rare, mistakes and mishaps do happen in hospitals. Whether you become ill because you caught a virus or they perform a surgery on the wrong body part, health insurance carriers are beginning to adopt the Medicare policy. Medicare recently embraced the policy in which they refuse to pay for accidents made by the hospitals. Now, WellPoint who operates Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Jersey is adopting the same policy. WellPoint will refuse payments to hospitals for mistakes and avoidable accidents. They will also protect their clients from paying for these mistakes made by the hospitals.

            The new policy will not drastically affect the costs of healthcare but it should be understood that this will benefit our healthcare system by forcing hospitals to provide better service and limit mistakes being made. For starters, WellPoint will refuse payment on four key categories; surgeries performed on the wrong body part, surgeries performed on the wrong patient, and wrong surgery performed on a patient. Also, they will refuse to pay for objects left in bodies after surgery, air embolisms or blockage, and providing patients with the wrong blood type.

            The new policy can create a higher standard for healthcare providers in the USA while also protecting the finances of our insurance carriers and healthcare patients. Mistakes in hospitals are common and easily preventable. If all insurance carriers adopt this policy, together they can improve the quality of our health system.

            WellPoint currently opperates Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in 14 states across the United States.