Casey, Wyden Demand Action on COVID-19 in Nursing Homes During Call with Senior Trump Health Official

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Aging Committee, and U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee today called on the Trump administration to commit to a timeline and plan to release data on COVID-19 infections and deaths in nursing homes. Wyden and Casey asked for this commitment in phone call with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma. The most recent news media reports indicate there have been more than 20,000 deaths in these facilities.

“This administration’s response to the COVID-19 crisis in America’s nursing homes has been wholly inadequate,” Senators Casey and Wyden said. “We have been calling for more than a month for infection and death data to be made available, and Administrator Verma’s unwillingness to commit to a timeline to publicly release this data means the Trump administration is failing seniors, their families, and the public health response to COVID-19. There have been no signs that the Trump administration has an effective plan to address the tragedy that is taking place in America’s nursing homes.”

Last month, Senators Casey and Wyden called on CMS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to release information on COVID-19 outbreaks in nursing homes around the country. Over two weeks ago, the Trump administration committed to release this information, but to date there has still been no public reporting by the administration.