for CV19 than many other similar diseases.
Hospitals are paid a set amount based upon the patient's final diagnosis. Although the patient, or their representative if they die, will get a long itemized bill for everything from a box of Kleenex to room and board, Medicare or many insurance companies pay a flat fee based upon the diagnoses. That flat fee might be adjusted if the patient stays much longer than average and a few other factors.
So, right now, CV19 results in a greater payment to a HOSPITAL than say if the diagnosis were pneumonia. But, to counter fudging diagnoses to get greater reimbursement Medicare and others audit records to make sure the diagnoses are proper. And there are some severe penalties for cheating as trumpsters seem to think is happening.
It is not true in most cases for DOCTORS because they are usually paid based upon the service rendered rather than some averaged payment rate like hospitals. If the patient is in the hospital for 20 days and the doc sees them all 20 days, they'll get paid for 20 hospital visits, plus a few other services. Assuming those visits are the same intensity as say a patient with pneumonia, their total reimbursement will pretty much be the same whether the patient had CV19 or just pneumonia.
Fact is, while there might be some incentive for a hospital to report CV19 as the primary diagnosis, it's not likely many, if any, are actually doing that. Bottom line -- trump and his Admin are lying sacks of chit.
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