[Cold Warrior]

From the LVRJ:

Now, Nevada has released an official definition of what it considers a confirmed COVID-19 death.


As of Oct. 19, the state’s official tally includes anyone who dies from natural causes within 30 days of testing positive for the respiratory disease.

[Bevv]

So a person tests positive on day 1 with no symptoms. On day 29 the person die of cancer that has been diagnosed and treated treated for years. The person's death certificate says COVID.
????? Makes Sense ?????

[Cold Warrior]

It makes sense.

It is true, however, that the government will pay more to hospitals for COVID-19 cases in two senses: By paying an additional 20% on top of traditional Medicare rates for COVID-19 patients during the public health emergency, and by reimbursing hospitals for treating the uninsured patients with the disease (at that enhanced Medicare rate).

See factcheck.org.

[VLWH]

Originally Posted by Cold Warrior

It makes sense.

See factcheck.org.

I will tell you from an insiders view. Hospitals are required to bill for diagnoses and procedures that are documented within the medical record. While certainly COVID simply being documented will likely be billed and reimbursed as such, the documentation, clinical results (labs, x-rays, clinical exams, etc.) and treatment better reflect the diagnoses billed. There are several Medicare and Medicaid programs that routinely audit records for billing errors and when an overpayment is found, they take back the overpayment. So, if the physician documents a certain diagnosis that allows the facility to get reimbursed an additional $2,000. If tests or treatment provided doesn’t support the diagnosis, they’ll deny the additional amount and take back their money.

Believe me, if a record is audited, any chart documented with COVID without supporting documentation, they’ll take back any additional payments. Medicare started a pilot program several years ago in order to audit records to find billing errors. The program was so successful that it was made permanent and extended throughout the country. No doubt a focus will be on COVID charts.

[OmegaSupreme]

If anyone thinks covid deaths are being counted incorrectly, you're probably right. Most likely they are being undercounted.

How else do you explain excess deaths far exceeding the covid count?

Oh, that's right, you can't.

[Coloradomom22]

Originally Posted by OmegaSupreme

If anyone thinks covid deaths are being counted incorrectly, you're probably right. Most likely they are being undercounted.

How else do you explain excess deaths far exceeding the covid count?

Oh, that's right, you can't.

My uncle just died. He was 70. Started having stomach pain back in February but Covid shut the hospitals down. He could only see doctors via zoom. He finally was able to get some tests but there were delays with those results too. Long story short he died of cancer in spite of being very healthy at the beginning of the year. He is someone who died because of Covid, not of it. I wonder how many deaths have happened similar to my uncle.

[Cold Warrior]

Oh, I guess Coloradomom could.

[OmegaSupreme]

Originally Posted by Coloradomom22

My uncle just died. He was 70. Started having stomach pain back in February but Covid shut the hospitals down. He could only see doctors via zoom. He finally was able to get some tests but there were delays with those results too. Long story short he died of cancer in spite of being very healthy at the beginning of the year. He is someone who died because of Covid, not of it. I wonder how many deaths have happened similar to my uncle.

I'm sorry for your loss and that this even happened and you're absolutely right, it probably has happened to many.

Guess what the head of the coronavirus taskforce is doing right now while the entire country is at an all time peak in cases and deaths?.... Yep, taking a vacation.

and the situation is dire in Las Vegas, the 7-day average of new cases is the highest it's ever been at over 1300/day. Sisolak has allowed this disease to flourish, bowing down to the casinos....

We're in for a lot of economic pain over the next couple or months.

[DenverBrian]

Also from that same LVRJ story:

Many COVID-19 patients’ death certificates include their underlying medical conditions, like heart disease or diabetes, and all certificates capture the sequence of events that led to their death, said Dr. Sally Aiken, president of the National Association of Medical Examiners.

That doesn’t mean COVID-19 isn’t to blame for their death.

“Just because you have a risk factor, it’s still the COVID that sets in motion the chain of events that causes your death,” Aiken said. “You are dying of COVID, because COVID pushes you over the edge, more or less.”

Last month, President Donald Trump told his audience at a political rally in Michigan that “our doctors get more money if somebody dies from COVID.” Experts say that is also false.

The actual facts are that 300,000 Americans are dead in 2020 who otherwise would not be dead in 2020 - excess deaths. The only real difference between 2020 and previous years: COVID.

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6942e2.htm

[Cold Warrior]

What does Dr. Sally Aiken, president of the National Association of Medical Examiners, have to say about COVID reporting in NEVADA?



Nothing at all.



How relevant are her remarks to COVID reporting in NEVADA?


No relevance.