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How Much Would Trump’s Coronavirus Treatment Cost Most Americans?


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How Much Would Trump’s Coronavirus Treatment Cost Most Americans?

Sarah Kliff 2 hrs ago
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

The New York Times is investigating the costs associated with testing and treatment for the coronavirus and how the pandemic is changing health care in America. You can read more about the project and submit your medical bills here.

© Anna Moneymaker for The New York Times President Trump’s physician Dr. Sean Conley, with other medical staff members, briefing reporters outside Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Saturday. While Mr. Trump did not have to worry about the costs of his care, many Americans who have been ill with Covid-19 face large medical bills.

President Trump spent three days in the hospital. He arrived and left by helicopter. And he received multiple coronavirus tests, oxygen, steroids and an experimental antibody treatment.

For someone who isn’t president, that would cost more than $100,000 in the American health system. Patients could face significant surprise bills and medical debt even after health insurance paid its share.

The biggest financial risks would come not from the hospital stay but from the services provided elsewhere, including helicopter transit and repeated coronavirus testing.

Mr. Trump has praised the high quality of care he received at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and has played down the risk of the virus. “Don’t be afraid of Covid,” Mr. Trump tweeted on Monday, before returning to the White House. “Don’t let it dominate your life.”

Across the country, patients have struggled with both the long-term health and financial effects of contracting coronavirus. Nearly half a million have been hospitalized. Routine tests can result in thousands of dollars in uncovered charges; hospitalized patients have received bills upward of $400,000.

Mr. Trump did not have to worry about the costs of his care, which are covered by the federal government. Most Americans, including many who carry health coverage, do worry about receiving medical care they cannot afford.

For some Americans, the bills could start mounting with frequent tests. Insurers are generally required to pay for those tests when physicians order them, but not when employers do.

The Trump administration made that clear in June, when it issued guidance stating that insurers do not have to pay for “testing conducted to screen for general workplace health and safety.” Instead, patients need to pay for that type of testing themselves. Some might be able to get free tests at public sites, and some employers may voluntarily cover the costs. Others could face significant medical debt from tests delivered at hospitals or urgent care centers.

Covid tests can be expensive. Although they typically cost $100, one emergency room in Texas has charged as much as $6,408 for a drive-through test. About 2.4 percent of coronavirus tests billed to insurers leave the patient responsible for some portion of payment, according to the health data firm Castlight. With 108 million tests performed in the United States, that could amount to millions of tests that leave patients responsible for some share of the cost.

Marta Bartan, who works as a hair colorist in Brooklyn, needed a coronavirus test to return to her job this summer. She received a $1,394 bill from the hospital running the drive-through site where she was tested.

“I was so confused,” said Ms. Bartan, who is contesting the bill. “You go in to get a Covid test expecting it to be free. What could they have possibly charged me $1,400 for?”

The bills for the typical American would continue at the hospital, with the routine monitoring that any patient would receive and the drugs provided in the course of care.

Remdesivir, a new coronavirus treatment created by Gilead, costs $3,120 when purchased by private insurers and $2,340 with public programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

Mr. Trump also received an experimental antibody treatment from Regeneron. It’s currently available to clinical trial participants or to those granted a “compassionate use” exemption. In either situation, the drug would typically be provided to the patient at no charge. This will most likely change, however, when the treatment finishes trials and hits the commercial market. These types of drugs are hard to manufacture, and other monoclonal antibodies cost thousands of dollars.

Health economists are only starting to understand the full costs of coronavirus treatment, just as scientists are mapping out how the disease works and spreads. They do have some early estimates: The median charge for a coronavirus hospitalization for a patient over 60 is $61,912, according to a claims database, FAIR Health

That figure includes any medical care during the hospital stay, such as an emergency room visit that led to admission or drugs provided by the hospital.

For insured patients, that price would typically be negotiated lower by their health plan. FAIR Health estimates that the median amount paid is $31,575. That amount, like most things in American health care, varies significantly from one patient to another.

In the FAIR Health data on coronavirus patients over 60, a quarter face charges less than $26,821 for their hospital stay. Another quarter face charges higher than $193,149, in part because of longer stays.

Many, but not all, health insurers have said they will not apply co-payments or deductibles to patients’ coronavirus hospital stays, which could help shield patients from large bills.

Uninsured patients, however, could be stuck with the entire hospital charges and not receive any discounts. While the Trump administration did set up a fund to cover coronavirus testing and treatment costs for the uninsured, The Times has reported that some Americans without health insurance have received large bills for their hospital stays.

The biggest billing risk for a patient receiving treatment similar to Mr. Trump’s would probably come from helicopter rides to the hospital.

Air ambulances are expensive and often not in major health insurance plans’ networks. The median charge for an air ambulance is $38,770, according to a study in the journal Health Affairs published this year. When the helicopter trip is out of network — as about three-quarters of them are — patients are left with a median charge of $21,698 after the insurance payout.

Taking two helicopter rides, as Mr. Trump did, could plausibly result in more than $40,000 in medical debt for patients without access to their own aircraft (though of course most people do not leave the hospital by helicopter).

The financial consequences of a coronavirus hospitalization could be long-lasting, if a new Supreme Court challenge to the Affordable Care Act is successful. That case argues that all of Obamacare is unconstitutional, including the health law’s protections for pre-existing conditions. The administration filed a brief in June supporting the challenge.

The Supreme Court hears that case on Nov. 10. If the challenge succeeds, Covid-19 could join a long list of pre-existing conditions that would leave patients facing higher premiums or denials of coverage. In that case, coronavirus survivors could face a future in which their hospital stays increase their health costs for years to come.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/how-much-would-trumps-coronavirus-treatment-cost-most-americans/ar-BB19MG4w?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=U453DHP

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I think,,, seeing President Trump Donated his salary every year he has been president and put his life on hold to help all citizens of the United States is entitled to whatever it takes to keep him well,,,He could walk away and live the life we have been here waiting for But he's not that kind of man.   MAGA  Go RV

 

(I could go on n on about what he has done and forfeited for the USA but I would get carpel tunnel typing!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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"An effective drug for Corona" contributed to Trump's exit from isolation within 3 days ... Where is he in "Iraq" and how can the injured get it quickly!

2020-10-07
640x480.jpg?resize=640%2C480&ssl=1

Yes Iraq - Baghdad

Several questions are floating on the surface of the world regarding the new Corona pandemic for more than seven months, but the most prominent of which has been recently raised about what treatment doctors used at Walter Reed Center in the American capital, Washington, to confront the injury of US President Donald Trump, who came out after the expiration of 3 days. Inside isolation, to return to the White House announcing his death.

And because the experience is very important and the mysteries of the matter must be explained, so will any Iraqi citizen or in another country be able, for example, to obtain what Trump got, if he had a corona! And is this treatment, no matter how simple, is available in stores and pharmacies at reasonable prices, as well as more information? About the mechanism of administration.

What happened with Trump in isolation?

Among the means of treatment that the US President, Donald Trump, received to overcome Covid-19 disease, the mineral zinc, which can be obtained from some cheap foods and nutritional supplements.

And a report by the Wall Street Journal indicates the critical importance of this mineral for the survival of Covid-19 patients.

Spanish researchers said, in a study published last month, that Covid-19 patients who died in hospitals during the last months of March and April, had average zinc levels of 43 micrograms per deciliter. For those who managed to survive, the average was 63.

On the Iraqi level, there is an explanation ..

Dr. Zaid Khurshid, says about zinc was the main treatment for Trump, in an interview with “Yis Iraq”: I think the phrase is exaggerated that the more zinc, the lower the death rate. They all work to support and activate immune cells by controlling any foreign body, and they help heal wounds, fertility, and fight cancer cells.

Regarding its presence and opportunities for obtaining it for the Iraqi citizen, Khorshid explains that zinc is present in broccoli, spinach and garlic in high proportions, as well as in capsule form available in pharmacies with a strength of 25 mg or 50 mg that can be used on a daily basis.

Regarding its prices, it was high at the beginning of the crisis, but now it has definitely decreased in proportion to the origin, while between that and due to the Corona pandemic, people's awareness has increased and the demand for vitamin products has increased in greater proportions.

Zinc levels in humans?

Medical reports indicate that the normal rate of zinc in the human body is 70, and with the calculation of age, gender and severity of the disease, it turns out that the higher the level of zinc in the blood, the lower the probability of death by 7 percent for Corona patients.

Scientists said, in a recent article in the "Journal of Medical Virology," that zinc may also have an antiviral effect because it may inhibit RNA viruses, including corona viruses.

In general, zinc plays an essential role in the metabolism and functioning of the immune system, and numerous studies over the years have found that people who have low levels of it are more likely to develop diseases such as pneumonia, diabetes, kidney disease and chronic fatigue.

The "National Institutes of Health" of the US Department of Health says that severe zinc deficiency "impairs immune function", and recommends the use of nutritional supplements that contain it.

Elderly people often have low levels of it, for the most important reason that their diets may not contain foods with an adequate percentage of zinc, such as red meat, which is one of the most important sources of this important mineral, but they generally avoid it due to its relationship to heart disease.

Whole grains, beans and nuts also contain zinc, but they also contain acids that prevent it from being absorbed, as do calcium supplements. People with diabetes, kidney disease, and ulcerative colitis also have a low absorption rate.

Oregon State University notes that dietary zinc deficiency is very common in the developing world, affecting about 2 billion people, for reasons including the lack of foods of animal origin.

 

https://yesiraq.com/دواء-فعال-لكورونا-اسهم-بخروج-ترامب-من/

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Obviously my confused forum member did not look up the info.

Australian develops effective Triple Therapy to treat COVID-19

06 August 2020 | News

 

'A combination of FDA and TGA approved Ivermectin, Zinc and Doxycycline has shown positive results for COVID-19 and should be considered immediately to fight the pandemic' says CDD Medical Director Professor Thomas Borody

Photo Credit: Freepik

Australia's The Centre for Digestive Disease (CDD) Medical Director Professor Thomas Borody MB, BS, BSc(Med), MD, PhD, DSc, FRACP,FACP,FACG, AGAF, says FDA and TGA approved Ivermectin which he uses regularly in his hospital, has shown positive results for COVID-19 and should be considered immediately to fight the pandemic.

Ivermectin was discovered in the 1970s and is on the World Health Organization (WHO) list of essential medicines.

Professor Borody has used the same methodology with the COVID-19 Ivermectin Triple Therapy as he used when he developed the world’s first cure for peptic ulcers saving millions of lives around the globe. He says this combination of 3 approved “off the shelf” drugs could be the answer to Australia’s COVID-19 crisis.

“If nothing else, make it available in aged care homes immediately. Our elderly are at the highest risk and this is a very safe option especially when we have nothing else except ventilators. Also, our frontline workers deserve more protection with a preventative medication like this, and as an emergency treatment if they test positive,” says Professor Borody.

“An Ivermectin tablet can cost as little as $2 – which could make it by far the cheapest, safest, and fastest cure for Australians and the Australian economy," he added.

Professor Borody is an internationally regarded physician with 4 FDA approved drugs on the US and Australian markets, who is famous for developing the triple therapy that cured peptic ulcers saving more than 18,000 lives just in Australia and millions internationally.

He said Ivermectin has a good safety profile and in fact the WHO says in a report ‘Mass treatment with ivermectin: an underutilized public health strategy’. Some of the medical professionals already using it as a preventative therapy themselves. It is time to capitalize on the full public health potential of ivermectin” as an anti-parasitic.  [https://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/82/8/editorial30804html/en/]

In the Journal of Antibiotics a 12 June 2020 report on Ivermectin says: [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41429-020-0336-z]

“Several studies reported antiviral effects of ivermectin on RNA viruses such as Zika, dengue, yellow fever, West Nile, Hendra, Newcastle, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, chikungunya, Semliki Forest, Sindbis, Avian influenza A, Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome, Human immunodeficiency virus type 1, and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.”

Professor Borody says his research has led him to a triple therapy of Ivermectin, zinc and an antibiotic – which are all TGA and FDA approved – which could be the fastest and safest way to stop the Victorian outbreak within 6-8 weeks. [See Professor Borody’s published research papers ORIC here http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0519-4698]

Professor Borody said, “These 3 medications are already approved. They do not need pre-clinical or clinical trials nor additional TGA approvals unless the aim is to combine in a single capsule, for example. Patient treatment programs have been done in the US and elsewhere which indicate it can work within 4-6 days.”

Professor Borody has reviewed the key antiviral scientific research literature and identified the combination of 3 drugs that are in chemists right now and can be prescribed by doctors immediately. The tablets can be taken at home as a preventive treatment by high risk individuals, or by those who test positive to minimise need for hospitalisation at the higher curative dose.

The therapy comprises:

  1. Ivermectin - TGA and FDA approved as an anti-parasitic therapy with an established safety profile since the 1970s. Known as the “Wonder Drug” from Japan.
  2. Zinc
  3. Doxycycline – TGA and FDA approved tetracycline antibiotic that fights infections, such as acne, urinary tract infections, intestinal infections, respiratory infections, eye infections, gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, periodontitis (gum disease), and others.

Professor Borody says distribution teams could be deployed in Victoria’s hotspots to treat proven infected patients immediately, and people exposed or at risk could be taking the preventative dose.

 

Edited by nstoolman1
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