The CARES Act provided for a 20% add-on to the inpatient prospective payment system (PPS) DRG rate for COVID-19 patients for the duration of the public health emergency. CMS states that it will identify discharges of an individual diagnosed with COVID-19 using the following ICD-10 diagnosis codes:
- U07.1 (COVID-19) for discharges occurring on or after April 1, 2020
- B97.29 (Other coronavirus as the cause of diseases classified elsewhere) for discharges occurring on or after Jan 27, 2020 and on or before March 31, 2020
“How can anyone not believe that increasing the number of COVID-19 deaths may create an avenue for states to receive a larger portion of federal dollars. Already some states are complaining that they are not getting enough of the CARES Act dollars because they are having significantly more proportional COVID-19 deaths.” – Senator Scott Jenson, MD.
Jensen also said, “Hospital administrators might well want to see COVID-19 attached to a discharge summary or a death certificate. Why? Because if it’s a straightforward, garden-variety pneumonia that a person is admitted to the hospital for – if they’re Medicare – typically, the diagnosis-related group lump sum payment would be $5,000. But if it’s COVID-19 pneumonia, then it’s $13,000, and if that COVID-19 pneumonia patient ends up on a ventilator, it goes up to $39,000.”
Another rip off by our elected officials to funnel money into states who have mismanaged their finances because they funded unsupportable liberal causes. When will the voters see through this fraud and demand accountability?