Will a Policy of Refusing Reimbursement for Health Care–Associated Infections Be a Sufficient Incentive to Drive Improvements?

To the Editor In a recently published article¹ that used a meta-analysis to estimate costs of health care–associated infections (HCAIs), the conclusion, which was reinforced in the accompanying Editor’s Note,² suggested that, in light of a newly imposed Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services policy wherein treatment for such infections will no longer be reimbursed, awareness of the high costs of these infections—estimated to be almost $10 billion per year—would lead hospitals to invest in appropriate improvement programs.