Walden requests federal investigation into nursing home deaths in 5 states during pandemic

U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) called for a federal investigation into alleged violations by five states that reportedly pressured nursing homes to admit patients infected with COVID-19.

Rep. Walden, ranking member of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, joined U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) in requesting that the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services conduct the investigation.

As reported in a May 26 Forbes magazine article, “the governors of a handful of states in which some nursing homes struggled to provide safe and adequate care ‘actually ordered nursing homes to accept patients with active COVID-19 infections who were being discharged from hospitals,’” wrote Rep. Walden and his colleague in a June 29 letter sent to OIG Principal Deputy Inspector General Christi Grimm.

“Governors issuing such directives include those in New York, New Jersey, California, Pennsylvania, and Michigan,” according to their letter. “These state directives were issued as the COVID-19 fatality rate in nursing homes soared.”

For instance, in Pennsylvania, which reportedly has the seventh-highest death rate for nursing home residents, 69 percent of the state’s COVID-19 fatalities are now attributable to nursing and personal care homes, the lawmakers wrote.

Similarly, the rate in New Jersey was roughly 52 percent as of last month; in New York, at least 6,000 deaths are attributable to nursing homes; and in Michigan, 34 percent of COVID-19 deaths reportedly are linked to nursing homes, wrote Rep. Walden and Sen. Grassley.

The lawmakers noted that with over 50,000 deaths in nursing homes now linked to COVID-19, such facilities remain hotspots for the coronavirus.

“We request that the Office of Inspector General initiate an investigation into whether the decision by these states to pressure nursing homes to admit COVID-19 patients from hospitals violated, or was in any way inconsistent with, guidelines or requirements for participation in federal health care programs,” wrote the lawmakers.

They requested that the OIG deliver its findings to Congress no later than Sept. 30.