In late November, John Muncie underwent a laminectomy, a procedure that enlarges the spinal canal to relieve pressure on the spinal column or pinched nerves. A month later, he returned to the hospital because he was infected with one or more bacteria during the surgery. He spent the next 12 days fighting for his life. "If you broke it, you fix it, and you pay for it," his wife says. "We need [hospitals] to have an incentive to lower the infection rate ... Until it cuts into their profit margins, there's no real incentive for them to."