Hospitals intentionally inflating COVID cases to collect financial incentives, whistleblower says
02/06/2022 // Mary Villareal // Views

A whistleblower who works for the United Healthcare of Louisiana's Inpatient Utilization Management Department revealed that Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) cases were being inflated for financial incentives. The whistleblower, Jeanne Stagg, said that she witnessed cases coded as COVID despite the virus not being the "primary diagnosis" for the death of patient.

Stagg said that she tried to raise awareness to her leadership, as well as with the Fraud, Waste and Abuse Department, but she claimed that her concerns fell on deaf ears. She claimed they were not allowed to do medical necessity reviews, so hospitals are given free rein to admit anything they want and code the cases however they want.

In one instance, Stagg said, a person who went in due to multiple gunshot wounds was coded as COVID.

According to Dr. Julie Morial, chief medical officer of the United Healthcare of Louisiana, there are several financial incentives for hospitals to prefer to code patients with COVID-19 hospitalizations, saying that the Medicaid rate for reimbursement of COVID-19 patients is both higher and faster.

Recent actions by public officials have allowed this problem to persist. Stagg said she believes these erroneous codes could be the cause of COVID-19 spikes, which could also influence public health decisions.

The cause of death is primarily determined by the attending physician. In Pennsylvania, a coroner investigates suicides, criminal violence, accidental deaths and those that occur without a physician present. Death certificates, meanwhile, show when there are multiple contributing medical conditions.

Brighteon.TV

While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not dictate how the cause of death is determined, it does provide reporting guidance. Robert Anderson, who heads the Mortality Statistics Branch for the National Center for Health Statistics, said that the determination is solely the responsibility of the coroner or the physician. "They have to make a judgment, and with COVID-19 it's a medical judgment," he said.

COVID-19 can also be severe for patients with comorbidities and underlying health conditions like diabetes, pulmonary diseases, cardiovascular diseases and cancer. The death certificates for these COVID patients will also have to reflect these comorbidities. However, for categorizing without duplicating, certifiers such as physicians, coroners and medical examiners will have to assign the predominant cause of death.

In other words, the certifiers select the disease or condition that started the chain of events that lead to death. "When they die, they almost always die because of the virus, not the chronic condition," said Anderson. (Related: Mayo Clinic: COVID shots will be necessary for at least 100 YEARS.)

Doctors push back against over-inflation accusations

American Medical Association President Susan Bailey pushed back on the accusations. "The suggestion that doctors – in the midst of a public health crisis – are overcounting COVID-19 patients or lying to line their pockets is a malicious, outrageous and completely misguided charge," she said.

Officially, hospitals are supposed to be paid for COVID treatments the same way they are for any other care. Generally, the more serious the problem, the more hospitals are paid. Treating a ventilator patient, such as one with COVID or any other illness, would mean higher pay to a hospital, compared to treating one who does not require one.

Medicare, which is the government health program for the elderly and disabled, pays 20 percent more than its ordinary reimbursement for COVID patients as a result of the CARES Act, which was passed in the spring.

Rick Pollack, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association, also addressed the "myths" surrounding the add-on payments back in September. He said that while many hospitals are struggling financially, there are not inflating the number of cases, as there are disincentives in doing so, such as penalties or the hospital being kicked out of the Medicare program.

More related stories:

Excess deaths soaring in every country where covid "vaccine" uptake is high: data.

Stunning German analysis finds that COVID-19 vaccine death rates are FAR higher than previously reported.

Cancer expert says U.K. seeing spike in “non-covid deaths,” nobody willing to call out vaccine elephant in the room.

Leaked military documents show that ivermectin "works throughout all phases" of covid… so why has the medical establishment SUPPRESSED it for two years?

CDC report shows 40 percent increase in excess deaths among Americans ages 18 to 49.

Watch the video below to learn about how hospitals are being paid for COVID.

This video is from the SurvivalTV channel on Brighteon.com.

Follow Pandemic.news for more updates related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Sources include:

HumansAreFree.com

ProjectVeritas.com

LancasterOnline.com

KHN.org

Brighteon.com



Take Action:
Support Natural News by linking to this article from your website.
Permalink to this article:
Copy
Embed article link:
Copy
Reprinting this article:
Non-commercial use is permitted with credit to NaturalNews.com (including a clickable link).
Please contact us for more information.
Free Email Alerts
Get independent news alerts on natural cures, food lab tests, cannabis medicine, science, robotics, drones, privacy and more.
App Store
Android App
eTrust Pro Certified

This site is part of the Natural News Network © 2022 All Rights Reserved. Privacy | Terms All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing International, LTD. is not responsible for content written by contributing authors. The information on this site is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice of any kind. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. Your use of this website indicates your agreement to these terms and those published here. All trademarks, registered trademarks and servicemarks mentioned on this site are the property of their respective owners.

This site uses cookies
Natural News uses cookies to improve your experience on our site. By using this site, you agree to our privacy policy.
Learn More
Close
Get 100% real, uncensored news delivered straight to your inbox
You can unsubscribe at any time. Your email privacy is completely protected.