Senator Dr Scott Jensen: “Medicare Has Determined That If You Have A COVID-19 Admission To The Hospital You’ll Get Paid $13,000. If That COVID-19 Patient Goes On A Ventilator, You Get $39,000”
Dr. Scott Jensen, A Minnesota Family Physician and Republican State Senator, told in his interview in Fox News that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) guidelines for doctors to certify whether a patient has died of coronavirus are "ridiculous" and could be misleading the public which read as following:
"In cases where a definite diagnosis of COVID cannot be made but is suspected or likely (e.g. the circumstances are compelling with a reasonable degree of certainty) it is acceptable to report COVID-19 on a death certificate as 'probable' or 'presumed.'"
"The idea that we are going to allow people to massage and sort of game the numbers is a real issue because we are going to undermine the [public] trust," he said. "And right now as we see politicians doing things that aren’t necessarily motivated on fact and science, their trust in politicians is already wearing thin."
Jensen gave a hypothetical example of a patient who died while suffering from influenza. If the patient was elderly and had symptoms like fever and cough a few days before passing away, the doctor explained, he would have listed "respiratory arrest" as the primary cause of death.
"I’ve never been encouraged to [notate 'influenza']," he said. "I would probably write 'respiratory arrest' to be the top line, and the underlying cause of this disease would be pneumonia ... I might well put emphysema or congestive heart failure, but I would never put influenza down as the underlying cause of death and yet that’s what we are being asked to do here."
Jensen then told Ingraham that under the CDC guidelines, a patient who died after being hit by a bus and tested positive for coronavirus would be listed as having presumed to have died from the virus regardless of whatever damage was caused by the bus.
"That doesn't make any sense," he said.
Jensen also reacted to Dr. Anthony Fauci's response to a question about the potential for the number of coronavirus deaths being "padded," in which the NIAID director described the prevalence of "conspiracy theories" during "challenging" times in public health.
"I would remind him that anytime health care intersects with dollars it gets awkward," Jensen said.
"Right now, Medicare has determined that if you have a COVID-19 admission to the hospital you’ll get paid $13,000. If that COVID-19 patient goes on a ventilator, you get $39,000; three times as much. Nobody can tell me, after 35 years in the world of medicine, that sometimes those kinds of things [have] impact on what we do.
"Some physicians really have a bent towards public health and they will put down influenza or whatever because that’s their preference," Jensen added. "I try to stay very specific, very precise. If I know I’ve got pneumonia, that’s what’s going on the death certificate. I’m not going to add stuff just because it’s convenient."
Video:
Sen. Scott Jensen came twice under investigation by the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice for his scepticism surrounding the coronavirus pandemic and his medical license threatened for being a ‘danger to public health’
Anonymous complaints filed with the Board of Medical Practice allege that Jensen continues to “mislead” and “lie” to the public about COVID-19, according to a letter he received.
The complaints accuse Jensen of posting videos to Facebook that “contain false and misleading information,” wrongly comparing COVID-19 to the H1N1 pandemic of 2009 and posing a “danger to public health.”
The board already investigated similar allegations against Jensen first time in July and cleared him of any wrongdoing. The previous allegations accused him of spreading misinformation about COVID-19 and providing reckless advice by comparing the virus to the flu.
“I’ve said this before: if it can happen to me, could it happen to you also?” said Jensen. “This is a danger and I think we need to talk about it. Let’s not kid ourselves. The cancel culture, the muzzling of a perspective that you don’t like – this is happening.”
Jensen has no doubt that the complaints filed against him are politically motivated.
“I have to ask: who are we? This is a time censorship. This is a time of vehement anger,” he said. “When these things happen, they affect all of us. This is a deep, dark place we’re going, and there is a legitimate fear that the cure, the response, is worse than the problem itself.”
Sen.Dr Scott Jensen Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/SenatorJensen/?ref=page_internal
Videos:
Sen. Dr. Scott Jensen Is Having His Med License Threatened For Challenging COVID-19(July 2020)
Sen. Dr. Scott Jensen Under Investigation Again For COVID-19 Scepticism