Hospitals Screen for Germs After Medicare Threat | Bloomberg | 11.6.07
Threatened with financial penalties, U.S. hospitals are screening patients for drug-resistant germs and increasing the use of newer antibiotics, such as Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s Cubicin.
Medicare, the U.S. health plan for the elderly and disabled, will stop paying for treatment of some infections that arise in hospitals and are caused by germs such as MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, that are invulnerable to existing medicines. Treating resistant infections can cost as much as $300,000 for each case.
Will MRSA become a critical admitting diagnosis to prevent the hospitals being tagged with “hospital-acquired” MRSA and Medicare disallowance of subsequent care? I think so.
3 Comments
This is important information, especially for an elderly person on the Medicare part d plan. They don't need any more nasty surprises like being declined for care
This is important information, especially for an elderly person on the Medicare part d plan. They don’t need any more nasty surprises like being declined for care
“Medicare, the U.S. health plan for the elderly and disabled, will stop paying for treatment of some infections that arise in hospitals and are caused by germs such as MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, that are invulnerable to existing medicines. Treating resistant infections can cost as much as $300,000 for each case.”
Okay, that’s great. Here we have hospitals where our Medicare beneficiaries are getting sick - they have insurance - it just won’t cover the sickness. My advice - stay out of the hospital (and never touch the motel room remote control).
Seriously though, what do you do about somebody getting sick in the hospital?