Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #86

[dixiegirl1035]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...970eb0-1b8b-11eb-bb35-2dcfdab0a345_story.html

‘A whole lot of hurt’: Fauci warns of covid-19 surge, offers blunt assessment of Trump’s response

“We’re in for a whole lot of hurt. It’s not a good situation,” Anthony S. Fauci, the country’s leading infectious-disease expert, said in a wide-ranging interview late Friday. “All the stars are aligned in the wrong place as you go into the fall and winter season, with people congregating at home indoors. You could not possibly be positioned more poorly.”
“I have real problems with that guy,” Fauci said of Atlas. “He’s a smart guy who’s talking about things that I believe he doesn’t have any real insight or knowledge or experience in. He keeps talking about things that when you dissect it out and parse it out, it doesn’t make any sense.”

 

[margarita25]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/politics/fauci-covid-winter-forecast/2020/10/31/e3970eb0-1b8b-11eb-bb35-2dcfdab0a345_story.html?outputType=amp

‘A whole lot of hurt’: Fauci warns of covid-19 surge, offers blunt assessment of Trump’s response

“We’re in for a whole lot of hurt. It’s not a good situation,” Anthony S. Fauci, the country’s leading infectious-disease expert, said in a wide-ranging interview late Friday. “All the stars are aligned in the wrong place as you go into the fall and winter season, with people congregating at home indoors. You could not possibly be positioned more poorly.”

Yeah, in other words, we are totally screwed.

No revelation here.

 

[BayouBelle_LA]

But who is he insinuating is making these Covid death payments, and why would he not be in control of that situation if it were happening? Isn’t he in charge?

Or does he knows it’s not true but wants his followers to believe it, which would be tantamount to spreading Fake News?

Sorry to ask daft questions, but I’m struggling to get my head round the agenda of this one.

Fact check: Medicare pays hospitals more money for COVID-19 patients

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.

Hospitals are paid more for Medicare patients confirmed or presumed to have coronavirus

"The CARES Act authorized a temporary 20 percent increase in reimbursements from Medicare for COVID-19 patients to account for both anticipated and unanticipated increases in the cost of care for these medically complex patients," explained Dr. Summer McGee, dean of the School of Health Sciences at the University of New Haven.

As Badger highlighted, instead of getting paid the DRG rate, a hospital that admits a coronavirus patient will receive 20 percent more compensation than they would for providing that same care to a non-coronavirus patient.

"Imagine two Medicare patients, one with COVID-19 and another one not, with pneumonia in the same ICU. Medicare will pay, for example, $10,000 for the pneumonia patient who doesn't have COVID-19 and $12,000 for the patient who does," he surmised. "The rationale is that this provides a sort of rough justice method of making sure that hospitals that get a lot of COVID-19 patients also get extra money from the government."

 

[beatrixpotter]

I feel pretty sad and despondent over this tonight. It's so depressing. I don't recall our country ever being in such a state of chaos. We literally can't agree on what the facts are. Everyone is living in their own reality. It's non stop lies and accusation of lies. No matter what side you are on it still boils down to others being liars.

I'm going stir crazy here. It's one thing to lock down for a months at a time. It's another thing entirely when your country literally has NO PLAN for dealing with this virus. Nothing. I'm just supposed to hole up with my children for only God knows how long because no one else can be bothered?

I can't even go to any services at church now because one of our handful of choir members admitted he never wears a mask anywhere. Why? His doctor said it's bad for him and will raise his CO2. It might not be a big deal for others but for me not going for months or years because others are selfish jerks who can't be bothered to wear a mask because they embrace every conspiracy theory that works it's way through social media is just enraging.

I alternate between apathy and rage. I am so sick of the utter chaos we are in. I'm sick of having no leaders guiding us and making wise decisions for our respective states and our country. I never EVER could have imagined this spring how horrific this was going to be. And that it wasn't going to be horrific just because of the virus itself. But horrific because I am literally surrounded by bloody lunatics who believe in conspiracy over reality. We still can not even face reality. We are still just fighting over whether or not people are actually getting sick and dying from this virus.

Who the heck would have thought this was where we'd end up and that SO MANY people would embrace this alternate reality of the entire bloody world conspiring against us the U.S.

 

[10ofRods]

But even if there WAS some dodgy financial thing going on, wouldn’t Trump, as President, be able to stop that from happening? Who is he suggesting is paying this money to doctors?

I just don’t get it.

There's nothing going on that's shady, whatsoever. But he wants to discourage people from believing their doctors and the diagnoses given by doctors.

I will say that I had older relatives who went into the same "doctors are in a conspiracy to take our money" system of ideas.

If you think about it, it's very similar to ideas held by certain organizations who brand themselves as religions and anti-medicine. Why it has appeal with a broad audience, I do not know, except that my family members who went that direction were all people without insurance, with no real means of obtaining medical services, etc. They were not educated people, either.

 

[SouthAussie]

Fact check: Medicare pays hospitals more money for COVID-19 patients

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.

Hospitals are paid more for Medicare patients confirmed or presumed to have coronavirus

"The CARES Act authorized a temporary 20 percent increase in reimbursements from Medicare for COVID-19 patients to account for both anticipated and unanticipated increases in the cost of care for these medically complex patients," explained Dr. Summer McGee, dean of the School of Health Sciences at the University of New Haven.

As Badger highlighted, instead of getting paid the DRG rate, a hospital that admits a coronavirus patient will receive 20 percent more compensation than they would for providing that same care to a non-coronavirus patient.

"Imagine two Medicare patients, one with COVID-19 and another one not, with pneumonia in the same ICU. Medicare will pay, for example, $10,000 for the pneumonia patient who doesn't have COVID-19 and $12,000 for the patient who does," he surmised. "The rationale is that this provides a sort of rough justice method of making sure that hospitals that get a lot of COVID-19 patients also get extra money from the government."

Is this actually happening though? It would be so easy for any official to check. To provide some real data. Even if it was done on a random, spot check basis.

I can see why the doctors feel insulted. They are good enough to take in hoards of the covid unwell, they are good enough to spend hours and hours fighting for these peoples lives ... then it is insinuated - with no proof - that they are inflating numbers. By a person who seems so out of touch with what is happening to peoples lives. IMO

 

[margarita25]

This is another must watch, very important video I just came across, posted some months ago. Very powerful. Hits me in my gut. Was hard to watch. Sending this to my healthcare worker friend who is going through the ringer, as this nurse has a message of support for her colleagues.

Eta: I don’t think I knew about the rectal tubes...

Eta2: Last night I asked my friend, the respiratory therapist, how they’re doing in her hospital with covid cases, and she said “busier than Spring”, jmo. That is saying a lot. It sounds like she’s also making some work changes soon, which is a good thing imo as far as her mental health going forward.
@Colorado303

 

[CoverMeCagney]

I’m so sorry, Bea. Much as I’m no fan of Boris, I’m glad he has had the humility and decency to backtrack on his own policy in the face of expert medical advice. I can’t imagine how hard it is to deal with the paranoid mud slinging and dirty tactics you guys are experiencing, on top of the death and destruction we all face right now. As always, sending good wishes that things will improve soon.

 

[margarita25]

Idaho:
Child in Ada County hospitalized with MIS-C
Oct. 30, 2020

—-

Just came across this CDC webinar:
Webinar May 19, 2020 - Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) Associated with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

(MIS-C thread)

 

[10ofRods]

I feel pretty sad and despondent over this tonight. It's so depressing. I don't recall our country ever being in such a state of chaos. We literally can't agree on what the facts are. Everyone is living in their own reality. It's non stop lies and accusation of lies. No matter what side you are on it still boils down to others being liars.

I'm going stir crazy here. It's one thing to lock down for a months at a time. It's another thing entirely when your country literally has NO PLAN for dealing with this virus. Nothing. I'm just supposed to hole up with my children for only God knows how long because no one else can be bothered?

I can't even go to any services at church now because one of our handful of choir members admitted he never wears a mask anywhere. Why? His doctor said it's bad for him and will raise his CO2. It might not be a big deal for others but for me not going for months or years because others are selfish jerks who can't be bothered to wear a mask because they embrace every conspiracy theory that works it's way through social media is just enraging.

I alternate between apathy and rage. I am so sick of the utter chaos we are in. I'm sick of having no leaders guiding us and making wise decisions for our respective states and our country. I never EVER could have imagined this spring how horrific this was going to be. And that it wasn't going to be horrific just because of the virus itself. But horrific because I am literally surrounded by bloody lunatics who believe in conspiracy over reality. We still can not even face reality. We are still just fighting over whether or not people are actually getting sick and dying from this virus.

Who the heck would have thought this was where we'd end up and that SO MANY people would embrace this alternate reality of the entire bloody world conspiring against us the U.S.

ME TOO. It is a sad Hallowe'en and I'm so worried about where this country is going. Sometimes I feel as if the goal of our government is to wear us down until we give up and just get Covid.

You are so right - everyone is looking at everyone else as liars. I doubt the doctor actually said that to this man, but probably instead expressed sympathy for the man's dislike of masks ("I feel like I can't breathe!")

We have screwed ourselves over from within...

 

[margarita25]

ME TOO. It is a sad Hallowe'en and I'm so worried about where this country is going. Sometimes I feel as if the goal of our government is to wear us down until we give up and just get Covid.

You are so right - everyone is looking at everyone else as liars. I doubt the doctor actually said that to this man, but probably instead expressed sympathy for the man's dislike of masks ("I feel like I can't breathe!")

We have screwed ourselves over from within...

I’m getting increasingly worried about kids. Though not very common, the more cases we have, the more potential for MIS-C cases. I’ve got a very bad feeling about this with influenza, hope I’m wrong. Please be wrong. As we know MIS-C is a delayed response, so I’m expecting a major uptick. If it happens, it’s going to be hard to watch, be forewarned. Again, LET’S HOPE I’M WRONG.

 

[BayouBelle_LA]

Is this actually happening though? It would be so easy for any official to check. To provide some real data. Even if it was done on a random, spot check basis.

I can see why the doctors feel insulted. They are good enough to take in hoards of the covid unwell, they are good enough to spend hours and hours fighting for these peoples lives ... then it is insinuated - with no proof - that they are inflating numbers. By a person who seems so out of touch with what is happening to peoples lives. IMO

You don’t think medicare is paying more for covid patients? I believe they are.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

New York has new guidelines, and is replacing previous 14 day quarantine requirements with testing. Details at

Governor Cuomo Announces New Guidelines Allowing Out-of-State Travelers to "Test Out" of Mandatory 14-Day Quarantine


Audio & Rush Transcript: Governor Cuomo Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress During COVID-19 Pandemic

 

[margarita25]

“Coronavirus infections soared this week to record levels, hospitalizations are up in almost every state, and now — predictably, but slowly — deaths are rising, too.

The nation passed another milestone Friday with 9 million confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic, including more than 98,000 new cases, a daily record. More than 1,000 deaths in the United States from the novel coronavirus were reported each day Wednesday and Thursday, according to health data analyzed by The Washington Post, continuing an upward trend that began two weeks ago.“

[...]

“The truth is that mortality rates have improved, but the accelerating spread of the virus is driving up the absolute numbers of deaths.“

[...]

““Do you ever notice, they don’t use the word ‘death’? They use the word ‘cases,’ ” the president said Tuesday in Omaha. He brought up his 14-year-old son. “Like, Barron Trump is a case. He has sniffles, he was sniffling. One Kleenex, that’s all he needed, and he was better. But he’s a case.”“

First, coronavirus infections increased. Then, hospitalizations. Now, deaths are on the rise.

 

[SouthAussie]

You don’t think medicare is paying more for covid patients? I believe they are.

Of course I believe that covid patients attract a higher benefit. My point is, as it seems to have been missed, if the leadership wants to make claims that causes of death are being purposefully incorrectly stated, for the result of receiving higher benefits, then the leadership should back that up with some real data. Proof.

Because the doctors, who provide the cause of death, who are on the front lines and sacrificing themselves every day, say it isn't so. And the doctors are the ones we all rely on for truth and care when we are speaking of our health.

And if there is proof - which I personally doubt - then the rorting should have been stopped long ago by a responsible leader. And not just espoused. What is a leader for, if not to protect the people, if not to make sure that the every tax dollar goes to where it is truly needed?

 

[margarita25]

WASHINGTON – Medical groups are slamming President Donald Trump for resurfacing a baseless conspiracy on campaign stops that doctors are inflating the number of COVID-19 deaths in the USA in order to drive up profits during the pandemic.

"You know, our doctors get more money if somebody dies from COVID. You know that, right?" Trump told a rally in Waterford Township, Mich., on Friday, resurfacing a claim he has made for weeks. "I mean, our doctors are very smart people...so, what they do is they say, 'I'm sorry, but, you know, everybody dies of COVID.'"

[...]

“The American College of Emergency Physicians released a statement earlier this week saying the group was "appalled" by the president's claim.

"To imply that emergency physicians would inflate the number of deaths from this pandemic to gain financially is offensive, especially as many are actually under unprecedented financial strain as they continue to bear the brunt of COVID-19," the group said in an Oct. 25 statement.”


Trump ripped for baseless claim doctors inflate COVID-19 deaths

 

[MimosaMornings]

United House of Prayer COVID-19 outbreak | wcnc.com

“The members we spoke to say the church began dealing with COVID-19 cases at that time and leadership never directed services to stop.

"There were other outbreaks and there were a lot of deaths within the church already," said the anonymous member. It's sad, the fact that people already died and you're going forward and just stepping over their bodies like their life didn't matter."

In a letter obtained by WCNC Charlotte's Billie Jean Shaw, the head bishop, who the congregation refers to as "Sweet Daddy C.M. Bailey," encouraged members to continue attending gatherings at the church despite state and county restrictions.”

“The bishop goes on to list the church service times and writes, "don't make excuses for not coming when you are able to come."

United House of Prayer now linked to 181 COVID cases in outbreak | wcnc.com

“Health officials in Mecklenburg County have now confirmed 181 cases of COVID-19, six deaths and at least 10 hospitalizations to an outbreak at the United House of Prayer For All People in north Charlotte.”

 

[margarita25]

Of course I believe that covid patients attract a higher benefit. My point is, as it seems to have been missed, is if the leadership wants to make claims that causes of death are being purposefully incorrectly stated, for the result of receiving higher benefits, then the leadership should back that up with some real data. Proof.

Because the doctors, who provide the cause of death, who are on the front lines and sacrificing themselves every day, say it isn't so. And the doctors are the ones we all rely on for truth and care when we are speaking of our health.

And if there is proof - which I personally doubt - then the rorting should have been stopped long ago by a responsible leader. And not just espoused. What is a leader for, if not to protect the people, if not to make sure that the every tax dollar goes to where it is truly needed?

The depravity to attack these doctors - beyond sickening, imo. And the docs are obviously not taking this lightly, as indicated in various articles. Rightfully so, JMO.

 

[Yesiamapirate]

I feel pretty sad and despondent over this tonight. It's so depressing. I don't recall our country ever being in such a state of chaos. We literally can't agree on what the facts are. Everyone is living in their own reality. It's non stop lies and accusation of lies. No matter what side you are on it still boils down to others being liars.

I'm going stir crazy here. It's one thing to lock down for a months at a time. It's another thing entirely when your country literally has NO PLAN for dealing with this virus. Nothing. I'm just supposed to hole up with my children for only God knows how long because no one else can be bothered?

I can't even go to any services at church now because one of our handful of choir members admitted he never wears a mask anywhere. Why? His doctor said it's bad for him and will raise his CO2. It might not be a big deal for others but for me not going for months or years because others are selfish jerks who can't be bothered to wear a mask because they embrace every conspiracy theory that works it's way through social media is just enraging.

I alternate between apathy and rage. I am so sick of the utter chaos we are in. I'm sick of having no leaders guiding us and making wise decisions for our respective states and our country. I never EVER could have imagined this spring how horrific this was going to be. And that it wasn't going to be horrific just because of the virus itself. But horrific because I am literally surrounded by bloody lunatics who believe in conspiracy over reality. We still can not even face reality. We are still just fighting over whether or not people are actually getting sick and dying from this virus.

Who the heck would have thought this was where we'd end up and that SO MANY people would embrace this alternate reality of the entire bloody world conspiring against us the U.S.

You are not alone. I could have written this post.

 

[margarita25]

Dbm too much input / might come back to math equations in the millions later

—

Moving on for the moment:

US coronavirus cases surpass 9 million driven by 'silent epidemic' of asymptomatic infections - CNN

///

Eta: just had this awful vision of a Christmas ornament shaped like this which says Merry Coronavirus

Not a happy camper, just sayin, and I’m sure we all share the sentiment.