LANSING, Mich. (Jan. 20, 2022) — The Senate and House Oversight Committees held a joint hearing this morning where committee members listened to a presentation from the Office of the Auditor General regarding its report on deaths in long-term care facilities.
During the meeting, the Auditor General confirmed that there was no undercount of deaths in long-term care facilities and that the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) reported those deaths according to federal and state guidelines. The Auditor General stated, “MDHHS accurately posted to the Michigan Coronavirus Dashboard the 5,675 COVID-19 deaths the LTC facilities self-reported as of July 7, 2021.”
The report also confirms the opinions of experts, including those at AARP and University of Michigan’s Center for Health and Research Transformation, who collectively agree that Michigan nursing homes fared far better than the average across the country.
“The Auditor General confirmed that there was no undercount. The report from the Auditor General confirms the opinions of experts and researchers who say that, while every COVID death is tragic, Michigan nursing homes fared better than the national average. The report goes even further saying that MDHHS acted properly and reported its data accordingly,” said Sen. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor). “Republican efforts to attack the Governor for not being careful enough about COVID is a political stunt and is particularly ridiculous in light of their opposition to public health protections. Republicans have withheld federal aid for nursing homes and schools, opposed public health precautions, and fought against masks and vaccines. Instead of addressing staffing shortages in nursing homes and protecting our elders from COVID-19, they continue to demonstrate that making partisan attacks is more important than protecting our seniors.”
During the hearing, Republicans on the committee attempted to use the debunked talking point that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer forced COVID-19 patients into nursing homes. This is not accurate, as the U.S. Department of Justice already found the state’s management to be sound.
Republicans on the Oversight Committee had asked the Auditor General to review the state’s count of deaths in long-term care facilities. The rational for this review was based on an executive order that was never implemented, thus the Auditor General investigated a policy that was never enacted.
“It was reiterated during today’s hearing that the Auditor General’s report confirms that the Michigan DHHS total long term care COVID-19 death count, when following CDC definitions and statutory requirements, are accurate,” Sen. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit) said. “This underscores the great lengths MDHHS has gone to in being transparent and delivering correct information throughout this pandemic. I find it extremely discouraging that valuable time is still being spent by my Republican colleagues on political posturing when there is so much other work we need to be doing to help our residents. I urge my colleagues to reprioritize so that we can provide relief to those still suffering from this public health crisis and who sent us to Lansing to serve them.”
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