Trump baselessly claims doctors are inflating coronavirus death counts for money

There is no evidence that suggests hospitals or doctors are inflating their coronavirus numbers. According to new research published this month, there were 20% more deaths from March 1 through August 1 than normally would be expected.

The American Medical Association, without naming the President, condemned claims that physicians inflate the number of Covid-19 patients they treat — calling such rumors “malicious, outrageous, and completely misguided.”

“The suggestion that doctors — in the midst of a public health crisis — are overcounting COVID-19 patients or lying to line their pockets is a malicious, outrageous, and completely misguided charge,” Dr. Susan Bailey, president of the American Medical Association, said in a written statement.

“Throughout this pandemic, physicians, nurses, and frontline health care workers have risked their health, their safety and their lives to treat their patients and defeat a deadly virus,” Bailey added.