Coronavirus

[Causalien]

How about black cop white cop play.

Have one side propose a second lockdown and have another side come in for a rescue and propose mandatory mask wearing as an alternative. Will this be more acceptable by the american population?

 

[SageBrush]

Arizona hospital admittance of covid-19 patients last 3 days are, 12 on Monday, 6 Tue and 1 for Wed. Here's the link
ADHS - Data Dashboard

What do you conclude from these numbers ?

 

[dfwatt]

Any interest in a poll ?

Next year's health insurance premium increases by region/state

Or an even scarier statistic: how many people are going to declare bankruptcy because of the confluence of job/income loss, insurance loss, and covid-19 hospitalization? Recent research suggests that on average with some yearly variation somewhere between 500000 and 750000 people a year declare bankruptcy due to medical costs. Many of them actually have insurance or had insurance at one point. I suspect that number is going to double at least in the context of covid 19

 

[madodel]

Or an even scarier statistic: how many people are going to declare bankruptcy because of the confluence of job/income loss, insurance loss, and covid-19 hospitalization? Recent research suggests that on average with some yearly variation somewhere between 500000 and 750000 people a year declare bankruptcy due to medical costs. Many of them actually have insurance or had insurance at one point. I suspect that number is going to double at least in the context of covid 19

Gee, I wonder how many declare bankruptcy in Europe for the same reasons?

 

[dfwatt]

Gee, I wonder how many declare bankruptcy in Europe for the same reasons?

Significantly less per capita in countries with some version of universal healthcare. It's difficult to get statistics for example in the UK but probably something like 50,000 bankruptcies with medical costs as a factor. Part of the problem is the bankruptcy is rarely due to a single factor and out of 1.5 million are so total bankruptcies in United States every year basically 2/3 have medical expenses as a factor, and about half of that where it's a/the primary factor.

 

[davepsilon]

Arizona hospital admittance of covid-19 patients last 3 days are, 12 on Monday, 6 Tue and 1 for Wed. Here's the link
ADHS - Data Dashboard

The top line number of hospitalizations on Wednesday was 3476. Monday It was 3377. https://covidtracking.com/data/state/arizona

According to numbers in that period it should have only moved by 19. But it increased by 99. If you are always asking how many hospitalizations in the last 48 hours, it’s always been a low number because of reporting lags.

 

[SageBrush]

Or an even scarier statistic: how many people are going to declare bankruptcy because of the confluence of job/income loss, insurance loss, and covid-19 hospitalization? Recent research suggests that on average with some yearly variation somewhere between 500000 and 750000 people a year declare bankruptcy due to medical costs. Many of them actually have insurance or had insurance at one point. I suspect that number is going to double at least in the context of covid 19

No doubt. The media will report on the Whites that fall into BK

It is true though Covid-19 has disproportionately affected poor minority populations (so far, anyway.) I think those groups are mostly insured by ACA in the progressive states, while they are uninsured in the trumper states.

 

[SageBrush]

The top line number of hospitalizations on Wednesday was 3476. Monday It was 3377. https://covidtracking.com/data/state/arizona

According to numbers in that period it should have only moved by 19. But it increased by 99. If you are always asking how many hospitalizations in the last 48 hours, it’s always been a low number because of reporting lags.

Right. Specifically, Covid testing delay

 

[FreshPrince]

Would having an excess supply of masks increase the compliance of mask wearing? There’s so many alternatives to respirator masks that people can use right now.

Cloth masks prevent infected person from spreading droplets with viruses in them. Whereas respirator masks (when fitted) prevent a wearer from inhaling the virus, be it suspended in dust or aerosol.

Not wearing a cloth mask (or surgical mask) outdoors (if person is not coughing), while keeping 2m distance, has little effect on virus spread. However, requiring one to be worn in all public spaces increases compliance.

 

[FreshPrince]

How about black cop white cop play.

Have one side propose a second lockdown and have another side come in for a rescue and propose mandatory mask wearing as an alternative. Will this be more acceptable by the american population?

We are done with coordinated response - it failed and is not coming back. Each state will make it's own rules from now on, some states already require masks and are preparing to make kids wear them at schools as well.

If there's one thing US government will agree on is to print more money to keep the stock market from caving.

 

[Dr. J]

If you are always asking how many hospitalizations in the last 48 hours, it’s always been a low number because of reporting lags.

What does two plus two equal?

In the coronavirus crisis, many are driven by what they want the answer to be, rather than what is the right question to ask.

 

[NikolaACDC]

Or an even scarier statistic: how many people are going to declare bankruptcy because of the confluence of job/income loss, insurance loss, and covid-19 hospitalization? Recent research suggests that on average with some yearly variation somewhere between 500000 and 750000 people a year declare bankruptcy due to medical costs. Many of them actually have insurance or had insurance at one point. I suspect that number is going to double at least in the context of covid 19

A fustercluck as usual
Trump and Congress tried to make coronavirus testing and treatment free, but people are still getting big bills when they go to the hospital
Tiny fraction of $2 billion federal uninsured COVID-19 testing funds have gone out

A lot of insurance companies announced that they would waive any charges for their insured for Covid-related treatment.
But even if they keep that promise (doubtful) this will end at some point. And there are a lot of people with long-term health impacts caused by a Covid infection with severe symptoms.
So a lot of these bankruptcies will happen later as well.

 

[davepsilon]

What does two plus two equal?

In the coronavirus crisis, many are driven by what they want the answer to be, rather than what is the right question to ask.

What do you think the right question is ...

 

[Right_Said_Fred]

Significantly less per capita in countries with some version of universal healthcare. It's difficult to get statistics for example in the UK but probably something like 50,000 bankruptcies with medical costs as a factor. Part of the problem is the bankruptcy is rarely due to a single factor and out of 1.5 million are so total bankruptcies in United States every year basically 2/3 have medical expenses as a factor, and about half of that where it's a/the primary factor.

I felt like it was a rhetorical question. And the answer: zero.

I believe it is very difficult to go bankrupt in Europe as usually everyone is covered in some way (at least in the Scandinavian countries, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, The Netherlands, France and Italy).

 

[TespaceX]

On a sad note, my colleague Dr. Nicole Quick, former Orange County (CA) Health Officer decided to resign after getting death threats because she dared to order businesses to require customers and employees wear masks.

I guess the public pressure from all those anti-mask crazies worked because the new health officer has rescinded the mask requirement. At the same time, this new health officer announced bars, gyms, and theaters will get to open right away (today).

Edit: Unless hell freezes, I believe nothing will get this country back into shelter in place. Not a 2nd wave nor 200k+ deaths. Just like with the healthcare system in place, most people seem to be determined to just accept the high cost of dealing with hospitalizations and deaths from the coronavirus instead of the simpler and easier, inconvenient precautionary measures.

 

[madodel]

I felt like it was a rhetorical question. And the answer: zero.

I believe it is very difficult to go bankrupt in Europe as usually everyone is covered in some way (at least in the Scandinavian countries, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, The Netherlands, France and Italy).

And from what I hear from my daughter in Germany there isn't any worry about getting a surprise bill for something not covered. What few co-pays there are, are pocket change.

We've only experienced it once when we had our son's tonsils removed and checked that the hospital and the surgeon were covered by our insurance. We never thought to ask about the anesthesia since it was an outpatient procedure. Got a bill for over $2,000 for anesthesia for an outpatient procedure that the insurance paid only 70% of the expected and customary fee of about $800 since it was "out of network". The Anesthesia group (not owned by the hospital which was something even we who had worked in healthcare for over a decade weren't aware of at the time) refused to give a discount and insisted we pay the outrageous bill. And this was back in the day when professional courtesy was still pretty universal. We could afford to pay it, but how many Americans can pay a surprise $2,000 medical bill today? And this was 20 years ago when $2,000 was a lot of money.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

I had a terrible nightmare last night that I was wandering around Shanghai (I've been there a few times before) and I was afraid of getting coronavirus. Then I woke up, not sure if I was really in Shanghai, and quickly realized that even if I were there, I was safe. I went peacefully back to sleep. A truly sad state of affairs!

 

[rxlawdude]

I guess the public pressure from all those anti-mask crazies worked because the new health officer has rescinded the mask requirement. At the same time, this new health officer announced bars, gyms, and theaters will get to open right away (today).

Edit: Unless hell freezes, I believe nothing will get this country back into shelter in place. Not a 2nd wave nor 200k+ deaths. Just like with the healthcare system in place, most people seem to be determined to just accept the high cost of dealing with hospitalizations and deaths from the coronavirus instead of the simpler and easier, inconvenient precautionary measures.

Yep, politics ($$$$$) over public health.

 

[SageBrush]

Yep, politics ($$$$$) over public health.

It's not like social distancing, mask use and personal hygeine (other than the trump moron) has been discouraged or prevented. The citizenry in many parts of the US are just plain stupid, ignorant, and short-sighted.

 

[TespaceX]

And from what I hear from my daughter in Germany there isn't any worry about getting a surprise bill for something not covered. What few co-pays there are, are pocket change.

We've only experienced it once when we had our son's tonsils removed and checked that the hospital and the surgeon were covered by our insurance. We never thought to ask about the anesthesia since it was an outpatient procedure. Got a bill for over $2,000 for anesthesia for an outpatient procedure that the insurance paid only 70% of the expected and customary fee of about $800 since it was "out of network". The Anesthesia group (not owned by the hospital which was something even we who had worked in healthcare for over a decade weren't aware of at the time) refused to give a discount and insisted we pay the outrageous bill. And this was back in the day when professional courtesy was still pretty universal. We could afford to pay it, but how many Americans can pay a surprise $2,000 medical bill today? And this was 20 years ago when $2,000 was a lot of money.

At least 20 years later, now, none of that stuff should be a surprise. With one of our kid’s birth not too long ago, the OB asked a PICU to be present in our room just in case. (How could we say, “No, don’t call him” in that situation?) And not surprisingly, this PICU who was not needed in the end, works under another group and so we got a separate bill for him to stand in our delivery room instead of the main floor.