AUGUSTA -- Maine hospitals say they would never intentionally charge the victim of a medical error, such as surgery performed on the wrong body part. But they are taking new steps to ensure that a bill doesn't go out in the first place.

The board of directors of the Maine Hospital Association have pledged to create policies that would ensure patients and insurers do not have to pay for services caused by a "preventable adverse health event."

Examples include leaving a foreign object in a surgery patient or giving a newborn to the wrong family.

"If a bill goes out the door, we feel that it's adding insult to injury for the patient," said Steve Michaud, president of the hospital association. "It's a matter of standardizing procedures to make sure nothing goes through."

Twenty hospitals were represented in the unanimous vote by the board last week. Support is also widespread on the remaining 17 hospitals in Maine, Michaud said.

Michaud said the pledge is part of Maine hospitals' ongoing attempts to raise the quality of care and reduce medical errors.