Requirements for Treatment

Because of Medicare’s zero-tolerance policy with regards to bedsores, if you are on Medicare you may have concerns as to your treatment if bedsores do develop. Fortunately, there are laws in place which require the hospital to provide adequate patient care for your condition, even if Medicare will not pay for those treatments. If you developed a bedsore before October 1, 2008, your Medicare coverage may pay for part of your treatments, depending upon the circumstances. However, any bedsores that developed on or after this date will no longer be covered in terms of the treatment you receive.

What this means for hospitals is that although they are required to provide treatment for any bedsores you develop, they will not have any income generated by the treatments, procedures, and medications required to alleviate your condition. Because this means that the hospital stands to lose a substantial amount of money in these instances, there is an incentive to provide better, more reliable care in the prevention of bedsores, versus the expensive and often lengthy treatment process required once the bedsore has developed.

You should not believe members of the hospital staff who tell you that bedsores are unavoidable, or that they cannot be prevented. There is solid medical research which has proven repeatedly that bedsores can be and are prevented through a regular routine of turning the patient, combined with other preventative measures.

At their most basic level, bedsores are an indication of neglect with regards to the care provided by the hospital staff. You should never have to pay extra in order for the hospital to treat a condition that was caused by the hospital staff. If you are concerned about the quality of care you receive as a hospital patient, it may be in your best interests to file a complaint with Medicare and seek legal advice from a reliable legal professional with regards to your rights as a patient.