Covid-19 hospitalizations hit a pandemic low in the US, but strain on hospitals persists

Cnn ^ | 04/01/2022 | Deidre McPhillips

[alexander_busek]

Hard to believe. Two years later and the hospitals still haven't made facility and staffing adjustments?

Oh, but they have! They've fired large swathes of their trained medical personnel and administrative assistants because of their refusal to "take the Jab!"

So, don't you go accusing them of having "done nothing!"

Regards,

[afchief]

Exactly......Covid is a LIE........100% of it

The entire PLANdemic was based on positive PCR tests and the PCR test is a LIE

[Worldtraveler once upon a time]

--- "The entire PLANdemic was based on positive PCR tests and the PCR test is a LIE"

The first RT-PCR test was coded in Berlin, Germany in January 2020, two months BEFORE there was a declared pandemic. It was adopted as an "official" test in the EU BEFORE the pandemic was declared. The WHO declared a pandemic in March 2020 and urged "test, test, test" using this PCR test. coded from Chinese data. It was run at far to high a number of cycles for months to obtain the "desired numbers."

As of 1 April 2022, 6,144,226 "official" global Covid deaths over twenty-seven months, according to Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.

Sources: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/ and https://www.census.gov/popclock/world

( 6,144,226 global deaths / 7.887,097,012 global population ) x 100 = 0.078 percent mortality rate globally.

Over more than two years, the mortality rate for this pandemic is less than one-tenth of one percent globally.

[Worldtraveler once upon a time]

--- "I believe the reward was in fact $39k ea. You disagree?" Asked of gas_dr....

That is a fair question. Some info with sources.

"We rate the claim that hospitals get paid more if patients are listed as COVID-19 and on ventilators as TRUE. Hospitals and doctors do get paid more for Medicare patients diagnosed with COVID-19 or if it's considered presumed they have COVID-19 absent a laboratory-confirmed test, and three times more if the patients are placed on a ventilator to cover the cost of care and loss of business resulting from a shift in focus to treat COVID-19 cases. This higher allocation of funds has been made possible under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act through a Medicare 20% add-on to its regular payment for COVID-19 patients, as verified by USA TODAY through the American Hospital Association Special Bulletin on the topic."

"Fact check: Hospitals get paid more if patients listed as COVID-19, on ventilators," USAToday 27 April 2020.

Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/04/24/fact-check-medicare-hospitals-paid-more-covid-19-patients-coronavirus/3000638001/

-----

"Hospital administrators might well want to see COVID-19 attached to a discharge summary or a death certificate. Why? Because if it's a straightforward, garden-variety pneumonia that a person is admitted to the hospital for—if they're Medicare—typically, the diagnosis-related group lump sum payment would be $5,000,” said Jensen, whose claim was fact-checked by USA Today. “But if it's COVID-19 pneumonia, then it's $13,000, and if that COVID-19 pneumonia patient ends up on a ventilator, it goes up to $39,000."

"Physicians Say Hospitals Are Pressuring ER Docs to List COVID-19 on Death Certificates. Here's Why," FEE, 29 April 2020.

Source: https://fee.org/articles/physicians-say-hospitals-are-pressuring-er-docs-to-list-covid-19-on-death-certificates-here-s-why/

While the figure may be different for different situations, there is no doubt that hospitals had significant additional Medicare compensation for their remdesivir/ventilator care, which resulted in the majority of the cases in death.

This within the larger, 27 month long "pandemic" with a sourced and calculated mortality rate of "less than one-tenth of one percent globally."

US CDC-protocol Covid "care" has been among the worst in the world, which is easily proven through all the official sources. Unless one does not accept the official sources, of course.

[Polynikes]

“A lie — no matter how many times it is told — is still a lie. As you quite nicely demonstrate with your ongoing stupid statements.”

Jim remember when I said you resort to Ad Hominem. attacks when you can offer no viable response, well you are doing it again.

Spare us your snarky witticisms and go back to filling out malpractice depositions and snorting N20 under your desk.

[9YearLurker]

Hint as to the larger factor: illness and death for the under-50s is way up over the past 9 months. I mean way up.

[dkGba]

Self imposed man-made avoidable ’crises’ —it’s disgraceful and disgusting. I hope your son is okay.

[Paul R.]

Lots of nurses quit over the forced vaccinations.

Lots more burned out. (Inside info. from a high level nurse friend in a position to know.)

[Paul R.]

Do you have any idea of the COST to the hospital to care for these patients?

Seems like a fair question for both.

[Engedi]

Husband just spent 17 hours in an ER. He got a room in the ER after spending 7hrs in a hallway in the ER Dept. I wasn’t allowed to see him until he got a room in the ER. Husband told me it was insane. People puking, people sick, people screaming in pain, etc. His nurse said it’s not COVID but people coming in from lockdown and now presenting with severe issues, one lady with a brain tumor, another with cancer, some flu, but not much of COVID. Hubby was finally admitted as Inpt for a few days. THE ER ROOM WAS PACKED. Then while hubby was in ER room, a patient beat up a male nurse outside his room because the nurse told the patient to wear a mask.

[Engedi]

My hubby’s ER Nurse last weekend told us she lives in Canada and makes hour drive to work at the hospital (major hospital in Michigan). I asked why. She said because Canada only offers part-time jobs with part time pay and awful rotating shifts. So much for national healthcare.

[Engedi]

Hubby recently admitted to hospital and yes, we could choose not to mask in the room only. However, the last surgery he had to removed his kidney in January, I was not allowed in pre-op or post-op. He has to have another surgery this week to remove his parathyroids and was told the policy would be the same. I won’t be able to see him before or after surgery.

[Engedi]

Vented patients hospital got $39K. I retired from Hospital reimbursement and my boss told me what the fee was during COVID.

[JoJo354]

We don’t have mask requirements in our clinics or Dr. offices where I live. The hospital still wants you to wear one but they won’t kick you out if you don’t.

[mewzilla]

Also, staff were fired, quit rather than get vaxxed.

And then there’s nosocomial spread. If that’s occurring, and isn’t it interesting that there’s so little data available to the public on it, that’s gonna do a number on hospitals, and patients, too.

[Worldtraveler once upon a time]

--- "Do you have any idea of the COST to the hospital to care for these patients? Seems like a fair question for both."

Agreed. It is a fair question.

Given the billing tales from various hospital stays, I can not answer your question except to say that cost and price are two very different things. Having a couple of extended family in hospitals in the last two years, the prices have been extraordinarily high and growing, as best I can judge.

Here are some tales:

"Another COVID Plague: Big Surprise Medical Bills for Survivors" (June 2020)

https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20200622/big-surprise-medical-bills-for-covid-survivors#1

And: "Americans' COVID Medical Bills Are Set to Rise" (September 2021)

https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2021-09-03/americans-covid-medical-bills-are-set-to-rise

"COVID Hospital Stays Leave Some Survivors With Big Medical Bills" *March 2022)

https://www.drugs.com/news/covid-hospital-leave-some-survivors-big-medical-bills-104294.html

An observation in general -- No large hospitals of which I am aware are bankrupt for their Covid work, but many once-upon-a-time medical professionals have been fired during the last twenty-seven months, some for rejecting the mRNA experimental drugs and some for their activism against them and some for the "mischief" of "disinformaiton." It seems the Covid pandemic has been a curse for many and a boon for the few.

As in: "Meet The 40 New Billionaires Who Got Rich Fighting Covid-19"

https://www.forbes.com/sites/giacomotognini/2021/04/06/meet-the-40-new-billionaires-who-got-rich-fighting-covid-19/?sh=46bc91a117e5

[Engedi]

Its still going on at hospitals and doctors offices. Hubby was just in hospital and masks are mandatory. I think its going to last this year at least.

[Engedi]

Well there will be surge I bet with all the spring breakers.

[gas_dr]

Hmmmm
Look up the word libel.
You are nothing but a bully. And not a good one at that.

[gas_dr]

It is a fair question. And a very good one. The $39,000 reimbursement sits in a DRG which is how hospitals are paid. It is a lump sum actuarial calculated number that defines the costs of the hospitalization to the institution including nursing, allied health care, admin, supplies, and all other costs associated with a patient. It does not include payments to medical staff which is separately billable and paid to the physician or his or her practice. Thus, the argument that physicians profit from ventilating a patient is just point blank incorrect.

The DRG then calculated a geometric average length of stay for patients who fall into that category. CARES act appropriated a nationwide payment for patients with COVID on mechanical ventilation for greater than 96 hours. The standard DRG payment is calculated by multiplying a standard conversion factor (CF) by the hospital specific unit reimbursement rate. Therefore the payment for two hospitals may be different based on the above formula.

This variation did not occur with COVID ventilated patients because Congress passed a law legislating to this disease specifically. Interestingly the legislation made Medicare rate payments for the uninsured which strangely nationalized a disease.

Because the DRG only calculates the geometric length of stay regardless of the discharge disposition, I suspect that the LOS is skewed by the time in which patients usually died (8-10 days of hospitalization). As such, patients that survived and hs LOS that ran weeks today months was a net loser for the hospital. But remember physicians were paid on a daily basis regardless of LOS which is a dysfunctional system but in this case a perverse check and balance to the financial dilemma of the hospital.

We can argue all day long that the system is bizarrely reimbursed and frankly makes little sense. But since it was designed but the government, is anyone surprised? My guess is COVID was a net zero or possible net loser to most hospitals. I sincerely doubt with few exceptions that hospitals hit the DRG jackpot on COVID. Recalling that the economic engine of hospitals is surgical and procedure based care, the loss of elective surgery and elective procedures probably really hammered a lot of hospital bottom lines. So, taken in its aggregate, Covid is something the hospitals wish they never heard of.

It’s a hell of a way to run a railroad.