Topic: Medicare Data

Steve Kirsch explains the "time series cohort analysis" used to evaluate vaccine safety, comparing New Zealand data with UK and U.S. Medicare records. He argues that all three datasets show an increased risk of death in the days following vaccination.

Dr. Scott Jensen, a Minnesota state senator, claims that pediatric COVID-19 hospitalization data has been significantly inflated. Reports suggest up to 40% of children admitted for unrelated issues, such as appendicitis or psychiatric episodes, were classified as COVID-19 admissions. This follows a pattern of financial incentives for hospitals to document COVID-19 on discharge summaries and death certificates.

Reports from MedPage Today highlight significant inaccuracies in the CMS database regarding COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes. An 80-bed facility in Saugus, Massachusetts, was incorrectly listed as having nearly 800 cases, while a New Jersey facility was listed with 753 deaths despite having only 90 beds. These discrepancies suggest that national data may be inflated by a factor of ten, potentially linked to Medicare reporting errors or fraud.

Phase three of the "Meaningful Use" program will reportedly require physicians to collect and share health data from 15% of their patients, including data from wearables like Fitbits. Failure to comply could result in cuts to Medicare reimbursements. This mandate is seen as a significant boon for tech companies like Apple and Fitbit as they integrate into the federal healthcare infrastructure.

Chief Technology Officer Todd Park promotes a new executive order making government information open and machine-readable by default. The initiative aims to increase transparency in the medical industry, where Medicare mandates for electronic record-keeping are revealing massive price discrepancies for identical procedures across different hospitals.