US begins crackdown on unvetted virus blood tests:
U.S. regulators are moving ahead with a crackdown on scores of antibody tests for the coronavirus that have not yet been shown to work.
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday published a list of more than two dozen test makers that have failed to file applications to remain on the market or already pulled their products.
The agency said in a statement that it expects the tests "will not be marketed or distributed." It was unclear if any of the companies would face additional penalties.
Most companies faced a deadline earlier this week to file paperwork demonstrating their tests' performance. Regulators required it after previously allowing tests to launch with minimal oversight, which critics said had created a "Wild West" of unregulated testing.
[...] Under pressure to increase testing options, the FDA in March essentially allowed companies to begin selling antibody tests as long as they notified the agency of their plans and provided disclaimers, including that they were not FDA-approved.
The FDA is now working with the National Institutes of Health and other federal health agencies to vet the accuracy of the tests and determine how they can be used to track and contain the virus.
(Score: 2) by PocketSizeSUn on Tuesday May 26 2020, @06:57PM (1 child)
Citation:
https://www.factcheck.org/2020/04/hospital-payments-and-the-covid-19-death-count/ [factcheck.org]
And on top of that:
So the oft repeated 13k and 39k are, factually, low estimates.
As to miscoding? We only have anecdotal stories that I am aware of ...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 26 2020, @07:48PM
Your first quote:
makes it clear that the difference in costs are related to significantly different treatment regimens. Someone with respiratory complications is going to require expensive support. And those with even more serious complications (on a ventilator for extended periods) require *even more* expensive support, in terms of equipment, medications, human interaction, etc.
I'd also note that not everyone with COVID-19 (or any other illness with respiratory complications) requires a ventilator, an ICU bed or the level of care that someone requiring extended use of a ventilator.
As such, the difference in cost isn't surprising at all, and has nothing to do with whether or not someone has COVID-19 or not.
What's more, from the link *you* posted [factcheck.org]:
That's not some nefarious plot to line the pockets of the hospitals, payments are in line with other, similar, respiratory illnesses with the exception of the statutory 20% premium during the crisis.
What's more, that's Medicare patients and the uninsured. Medicaid recipients are not considered at all.
As the link you posted clearly says:
You cherry-picked a couple of paragraphs and *completely* misrepresented the tenor and findings of the Factcheck article.
Were you too stupid to actually read your citation, or are you just a lying sack of shit?