James O’Keefe of Project Veritas yesterday released a new whistleblower video asserting from direct observation that Covid case numbers appear inflated; presumably for profit. The video supports what Tulsa Today has heard locally from several hospital workers who, to date, have declined to go on the record, but Jeanne Stagg who worked for United Healthcare of Louisiana’s Inpatient Utilization Management Department interviewed with Project Veritas.
Video highlights include:
• Jeanne Stagg, a whistleblower who worked in Inpatient Utilization Management, approached Project Veritas after seeing cases coded as COVID that she says should not have COVID listed as the “primary diagnosis.”
• Stagg: “I’ve tried to raise awareness to my leadership and even with the Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Department, and it just kind of fell on deaf ears.”
• The Chief Medical Officer for United Healthcare of Louisiana (Medicaid) opined in a recorded phone conversation that the Medicaid rate for reimbursement of COVID patients, which is faster and significantly higher, could be the motivation for the improper “primary diagnosis” codes.
• “Oh, yes. Yeah. I would think that there’s some motivation that it’s driving higher rates of reimbursement or quicker reimbursement, or something, because otherwise there’s no reason to put, you know, something like that as a leading diagnosis in an asymptom– basically asymptomatic patients,” said Dr. Morial, Chief Medical Officer for United Healthcare of Louisiana.
• The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals has suspended utilization review which is the process of determining whether health care is medically necessary for a patient or an insured individual. The whistleblower says this could be a major contributing factor to spikes in COVID numbers, which then influence public health decisions.
If you’re able, please support Jeanne through the GiveSendGo campaign that she created.
Stagg writes, “After almost two years working for United Healthcare Community plan of Louisiana, responsible for monitoring and tracking Covid positive admissions, I had enough. As early as June of 2020, I began to notice cases coming across my desk that listed a primary admitting diagnosis of Covid, yet review of the patient’s chart revealed the patient was NOT in the hospital for Covid and was NOT receiving ANY care for Covid. These were patients coming in for scheduled Cesarian deliveries, gunshot wounds, automobile accidents, Pediatric Psychiatric evaluations, overdoses, strokes, etc.
“All of my attempts to raise awareness of these cases to my leadership and the fraud, waste and abuse department fell on deaf ears. With the news reporting increasing Covid hospitalizations nightly, and threats to shut down schools once again with a return to virtual learning, I knew I had to reach out to Project Veritas for help.
“I came forward because Covid has been devastating for my community as I am sure it has been for yours. Many residents in Louisiana live far below the national poverty line. When kids are not in school, many do not receive two meals plus a snack each day. Additionally, many do not have Internet nor access to virtual learning, and they are falling behind in school. I could no longer just sit by and let these cases continue to feed into the fear that is causing our economy to shut down. I chose to SPEAK UP.” Stagg has dedicated a portion of all donations to go to the Baton Rouge Food Bank
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