CDC Director Confirms That Hospitals Receive More Funds for Reporting COVID-19 Deaths
Shane Trejo
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U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield admitted last week that hospitals are monetarily incentivized to over-report COVID-19 deaths.
Redfield made the admission while being questioned by a House of Representatives panel on Friday. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) brought up the possibility of “perverse incentives” and Redfield concurred in his response.
“I think you’re correct in that we’ve seen this in other disease processes, too. Really, in the HIV epidemic, somebody may have a heart attack but also have HIV — the hospital would prefer the [classification] for HIV because there’s greater reimbursement,” Redfield said.
“So, I do think there’s some reality to that. When it comes to death reporting, though, ultimately, it’s how the physician defines it in the death certificate, and … we review all of those death certificates. So I think, probably it is less operable in the cause of death, although I won’t say there are not some cases. I do think though [that] when it comes to hospital reimbursement issues or individuals that get discharged, there could be some play in that for sure,” Redfield continued.
Big League Politics has reported on how misreporting from around the country has cast doubt on the COVID-19 numbers:
Florida residents are reporting that they have received a positive COVID-19 diagnosis despite never being tested for the virus.
“I got a call asking for me, and they told me that I had tested positive. I was like, ‘Positive for what?” Then, the lady said for COVID, and I said, ‘That’s impossible. I never got tested, Ma’am,’” Mindy Clark said.
Clark entered a line at Manatee County Rural Health Services in Bradenton, FL but left the line after she realized it was for individuals with symptoms only. She received the positive diagnosis although she was never tested.
“I told them they needed to take this off my record, and they said I had to prove it to them that I wasn’t positive,” Clark continued.
Eventually Clark was tested and she tested negative for COVID-19 and antibodies, however, her situation is far from an isolated incident. There are many other people reporting false positives as well.
“It’s such a bad time. These last five months have been so bad. People don’t need these added mistakes. Everyone is already so nervous and trying so hard, and these mistakes are really causing more anxiety in people,” Clark said.
Whether it is being done deliberately or just due to sheer incompetence, the COVID-19 numbers are far from accurate. This is why many have called this a scamdemic.
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