Suzanne Humphries on vaccines: what the evidence says · JRE #2294
SUBJECT: VACCINES
The short answer
Humphries claims a hospital would lose or gain roughly $40,000 depending on whether it administered a vaccine within the first 24 hours of a patient's admission. There is no Medicare or CMS mechanism that pays or penalizes a hospital anywhere near $40,000 based on whether a vaccine is given within 24 hours of admission.
Not a true/false call. Every claim is logged with its sources; read the exhibits below.
It's because the hospital would lose something like $40,000 if they didn't give a vaccine within the first 24 hours of admission.
What the evidence says 01 / RECORD
There is no Medicare or CMS mechanism that pays or penalizes a hospital anywhere near $40,000 based on whether a vaccine is given within 24 hours of admission. Under the CMS national fee schedule, Medicare pays about $30 (roughly $32 to $35 in recent years) to administer an influenza, pneumococcal, or hepatitis B vaccine, and the vaccine and its administration are reimbursed as ordinary claims, not as a five-figure admission bonus. The $40,000 figure appears to conflate two separate and already debunked viral claims: a false claim that Blue Cross Blue Shield pays doctors a $40,000 bonus for vaccinating young children (rated False by PolitiFact), and average Medicare DRG payments of roughly $13,000 to $40,000 for treating severe respiratory or ventilated COVID-19 hospitalizations (which FactCheck.org explains are standard reimbursement for care, not vaccine incentives). No source supports a $40,000 loss or gain tied to a 24-hour vaccination deadline.