It simply makes no sense. Hospitals are aggressively using remdesivir months after it has become clear that it is not only ineffective, but causes liver toxicity and kidney failure. Yet despite its astronomical cost, hospital administrators are refusing to pull the treatment from standard protocol. At the same time, they are balking at the use of safe and effective ivermectin (or any other safe repurposed drug) to the point that they are even willing to go to court and appeal if they lose. What gives?

It’s not just the extra 20% bonus the hospitals get for treating patients with remdesivir, which would come out to roughly $600 in extra reimbursements per patient. A report on the CMS compliance rule from last October explains that for hospitals that treat with the approved emergency therapeutics — at the time, remdesivir and convalescent plasma — not only are they eligible for a 20% bonus, but that eligibility triggers access to “a New COVID–19 Treatments Add-on Payment (NCTAP) under the IPPS (inpatient prospective payment system ) for COVID-19 cases that meet certain criteria.”

What is this new payment scheme? Not only do hospitals get hundreds for remdesivir, but they potentially receive thousands for treating that individual patient for his entire course in the hospital.