Durbin and Illinois Colleagues Take Action to Prevent Spread of Hospital Infections

Press Release

At today's Illinois Delegation Luncheon, United States Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and fellow Illinois members signed a letter addressed to the Acting Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Leslie Norwalk, urging CMS to reimburse hospitals for the costs of treating Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA). MRSA is a preventable Hospital Acquired Infection (HAI) that is drug-resistant and can result in lengthy, expensive hospital treatments and death. Illinois Delegation members Barack Obama (D-IL), Judy Biggert (R-IL), Mark Kirk (R-IL), Bobby Rush (D-IL), and Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) signed the letter, which was sent today.

"Last year, MRSA resulted in thousands of deaths and $3 billion in hospital fees," Durbin said. "If Medicare starts to cover MRSA costs, we can save lives while saving the healthcare system money."

According to the results of a major new study, up to 1.2 million hospital patients are infected with drug-resistant infections each year, and MRSA alone results in more than $3 billion a year in additional costs for the Medicare program. MRSA meets the criteria specified by Congress for inclusion in the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) proposed rule. IPPS is the payment system with which Medicare reimburses hospitals for providing impatient care to beneficiaries. Healthcare providers are increasingly concerned about the high incidence of MRSA and recognize the need to combat the superbug aggressively by conducting proactive screening and isolating patients with infection prior to their admittance.

In Illinois, lawmakers are working actively to address MRSA by toughening hospital regulations. The State Senate passed the MRSA Screening and Reporting Act (SB233) on June 22 and the bill is now awaiting Governor Rod Blagojevich's signature. The Act would require Illinois hospitals to screen for MRSA, monitor adherence to hand hygiene, and report all infections for publication on a web site.

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