Preliminary 2020 all-cause mortality data available at PA Department of Health website
Still no 2020 hospital capacity and utilization data
Below are the current drafts of my data compilations efforts, first versions posted Feb. 7 and Feb. 11.
Disclaimer provided by PA Department of Health: "These data were provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The Department specifically disclaims responsibility for any analyses, interpretations, or conclusions."
Also note: the hospital utilization data reporting format changed in 2015 from fiscal year (July to June) to calendar year (January to December), but all figures are for 12-month periods.
As a reminder, the State College Area School District has cited hospital pressures as a key driver for ongoing school closures and classroom capacity restrictions, masking and distancing measures.
Also, I found a website that compiles financial data for hospitals, including:
Net patient revenue
Total operating revenue
Percent revenue from Medicare patients
Operating revenue
Operating income
Net income
When/if the 2020 financial data becomes available, that information will be relevant because since Spring 2020, hospitals have had a financial incentive to classify patients as Covid patients, because the CARES Act authorized a 20% bonus on regular Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates for any Covid-related care, no matter how weak the diagnostic evidence: the U07.1 diagnostic code.
At the same time (Spring 2020) the CDC revised the method for reporting causes of death used for the prior 17 years — without public notice and without authorization, so likely in violation of federal law — to funnel more deaths into the Covid class and reduce deaths attributed to other causes.
One study, published in October 2020 in Science, Public Health Policy, and The Law
found that if the 2003 cause-of-death reporting methods had been used, only 6% of the so-called Covid deaths in 2020 were actually due to Covid.
Next steps, if I keep working on this, are to add in available 2004-2019 financial data, wait for 2020 hospital capacity and utilization data, wait for 2020 hospital financial data, wait for Pa. Department of Health to finalize the all-cause mortality data, publish the age-stratified and cause-of-death data, and then embark on a deep dive into death certificates.
Interesting comparison chart of the preliminary Centre County data as published by Pennsylvania Department of Health October 28, 2020 and then revised version published February 23, 2021.
