Do hospitals get paid more for COVID-19 patients?

[Ohiogal]

Everyone on Facebook or Twitter seems to know someone who knows someone who’s got the real scoop about the novel coronavirus. Too often, though, the stories on social media are half-truths, honest mistakes or lies. The Enquirer asked experts to respond to some of the coronavirus questions flying around the internet. Here’s what we found:

Are hospitals paid more to care for coronavirus patients?

Yes, hospitals get an additional 20% for Medicare patients treated for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. But there’s more to the story behind this temporary reimbursement.

The higher Medicare rate stirred controversy in April after Republican Sen. Scott Jensen, a Minnesota doctor, speculated on Fox News that the additional money might inspire hospital administrators to make it look like routine pneumonia cases were COVID-19 cases.

Months later, though, the higher payouts don’t appear to have been a windfall for hospitals.

The Ohio Hospital Association estimates its 240 members have lost about $3 billion since early March because of pandemic-related limits on nonessential surgeries and procedures, which can be as much as 40% of a hospital’s revenue.

The financial strain is exacerbated by the higher cost of caring for COVID patients, which is why Congress approved the higher Medicare rate as part of the $2 trillion CARES Act.

The higher rate applies only to hospitalized Medicare patients, who, according to Becker’s Hospital Review, make up about 41% of U.S. hospital patients. Because that percentage varies by hospital, and because the formula for Medicare reimbursement is so complicated, not all hospitals receive the same amount of money per patient.

“It’s important to note that the money we receive for caring for COVID-19 patients covers only a small portion of the cost of caring for them,” said Nanette Bentley, spokeswoman for Bon Secours Mercy Health in Cincinnati.

(snip)

No cases of intentional misidentification of COVID patients have been reported, and a COVID diagnosis requires documentation, such as a positive test. Falsifying those documents would be unethical and illegal.

https://www.dispatch.com/news/20200804/qa-do-hospitals-get-paid-more-for-covid-19-patients