Ways & Means Democrats Urge Administration to Provide Accurate, Comprehensive Pandemic Nursing Home Data

***For Immediate Release***

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 10, 2020

Contact: Kate Stotesbery 202-225-4865

Ways & Means Democrats Urge Administration to Provide Accurate, Comprehensive Pandemic Nursing Home Data

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Chair of the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, led a July 7 oversight inquiry pressing the Trump Administration for answers regarding error-ridden data and gaping holes on nursing home safety—particularly regarding infection control. He was joined by over a dozen of his fellow Ways and Means Democrats.

"With the deaths of over 50,000 nursing home residents, continued COVID-19 outbreaks, and continued testing and PPE shortages, we are calling on the Trump Administration to provide accurate information on the extent of the crisis," Congressman Doggett said. "Excluding data showing wrongs does not release you from responsibility, and families seeking information on the safety of their loved ones deserve full transparency. Fearing accountability more than coronavirus, the Administration failed to provide a witness for our hearing, but the tough questions remain. The Administration must provide answers regarding all omitted infection surveys, verify the accuracy of released data, and provide an enforcement plan to ensure the timely release of missing facility data and enforcement actions against facilities, which have failed to meet basic standards of care."

"Probably no sector of our society has borne the brunt of this pandemic more than our long-term care facilities and nursing homes," said Congressman Pascrell. "The stunning, painful deaths of so many of our seniors in New Jersey and across the nation bear out this ongoing tragedy. The only way we can rebuild from this crisis and build a better, safer system is by learning all of the facts of what went wrong. Where were the failures worst? How far does the rot and incompetence go? The Trump Administration must stop dragging its feet and reflexively covering up and provide every crumb of data and information on the extent of damage to our long-term care facilities. Sunlight is essential and there is absolutely no substitute."

This is the latest action in an ongoing effort to seek higher standards and greater transparency for nursing homes, which follows a Ways and Means Health Subcommittee hearing chaired by Congressman Doggett on "Examining the COVID-19 Nursing Home Crisis"; full video of that hearing here. Though the Trump Administration was given the opportunity to pick the date and time, they declined to send a representative at all to the congressional hearing.

Center for Medicare Advocacy recently published a report on infection surveys related to this effort.

The full letter can be found here and below:

July 7, 2020

Dear Administrator Verma:

We write today concerning the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) actions to ensure complete COVID-19 data and infection control survey reporting on the Nursing Home Compare website. Without this critical information, families, ombudsmen, and regulators and policymakers are left in the dark about the true magnitude of this crisis.

On June 4^th, CMS published the first results of its nationwide nursing home data collection project and Focused Infection Control Surveys. Although this data was released after a troubling delay of over 10 weeks after the survey announcement and over six weeks after the data collection announcement, the information remains very incomplete. Hundreds of facilities have not reported their case, staffing, or personal protective equipment information to CMS, including over 130 facilities combined in our states, and thousands of infection surveys remain hidden from the public.

CMS has acknowledged that the case data published on June 4^th contained several errors, including inaccurate and incomplete numbers. The results of the infection control surveys were also unrealistically glowing, citing fewer than 3% of facilities with deficiencies and only two instances of any harm out of over 5,700 surveys. Truly implausible results after years of concerning reports, more than 50,000 resident deaths from COVID-19, and numerous requests from facilities for federal support in obtaining personal protective equipment.

We respectfully request a prompt response to the following questions regarding missing data and CMS's corrective actions:

1. How many facilities failed to provide complete data regarding cases, deaths, staffing, and personal protective equipment? Please provide a list of facilities for each reporting week, including facility name, location, and the specific categories of data missing each week.
2. What actions has CMS taken to obtain complete data from facilities? Please include any written or oral communications, any fines or other financial or non-financial penalties assessed or threatened, and the timeline and names and locations of the facilities for these actions. If no action has been taken for a particular facility, please indicate so and any actions CMS intends to undertake as well as the timeline.
3. What actions has CMS taken to ensure the accuracy of data reported thus far as well as the accuracy of its publication? Please include timelines, names and locations of facilities, and the specific actions undertaken, as well as CMS's determination of the accuracy of the information currently published.
4. What actions has CMS undertaken to verify the accuracy of the Focused Infection Control Surveys? Please include any investigations, written or oral communications, or other actions, with timelines and names and locations of facilities. Please also include any corrective actions taken to ensure state surveyors are conducting complete surveys. If no actions have been taken, please indicate so and any actions CMS intends to undertake as well as the timeline.
5. When does CMS intend to publish the remaining Focused Infection Control Surveys?

Thank you for your attention to this important issue.

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