A top health official suggested that the federal government should go back and probe several states that implemented policies essentially forcing nursing homes to take in COVID-19 patients. 

“What you’re referring to is something we need to go back and look at because it is very concerning,” Admiral Brett Giroir, MD, assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services, said Thursday during a hearing by the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis. 

“The [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] was very clear that in order to take care of a COVID nursing home patient there needed to be pretty significant mitigation measures — the ability to isolate, all the [personal protective equipment], trained staff, cleaning, etc.,” he added. 

Giroir’s comments came after being asked by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) about the policies. Scalise, along with several members of the subcommittee, sent letters to five states seeking answers regarding their nursing home measures during the pandemic.

“If you couldn’t do those things, you shouldn’t have it, and there were policies among a few states that said it doesn’t matter,” Giroir said. 

Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) fired back at the questioning, saying nursing home deaths weren’t caused by the actions of a few governors and that the carnage is widespread. She also defended New York’s response to the pandemic and said it followed federal guidance. 

“That is simply false,” she said in response to Giroir. “The facts are clear. During this crisis, Americans have died in nursing homes in every state in the USA. This includes blue states, red states and purple states.” 

The subcommittee’s hearing was focused on the federal government’s response to PPE and supply shortages — an ongoing concern for providers — during the coronavirus crisis.

About 70% of states have between 30 and 90 days’ worth of supplies on-hand, according to Rear Admiral John Polowczyk, vice director of logistics for the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Department of Defense. More than a month would be more comforting for most providers.

“For those that don’t have that amount, they have at least 30 days,” Polowczyk said.