Report Finds Michigan Governor Undercounted COVID Nursing Home Deaths

The Michigan Auditor General found 29.6 percent more COVID-19 nursing home deaths than Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s health department reported.

The investigation requested by state Rep. Steve Johnson (R-Wayland), chair of the Michigan House Oversight Committee, reviewed long-term facility deaths from January 1, 2020 through July 2, 2021. The state’s Department of Health and Human Services (MDHSS) reported 5,675 COVID-19 deaths while the audit found 8,061 residents who died of the virus, wrote Auditor General Doug Ringler in a January 12 letter to Johnson.

The administration disagreed with the auditor’s finding of an uncounted 1,511 deaths, questioning the reliability of the Michigan Disease Surveillance System’s address field. “[W]e contend the address field is reliable,” wrote Ringler.

‘A Discrepancy in the Reporting’

Publicity over the undercounting of deaths in New York State led legislators in Michigan to request the auditor’s probe, says Steve Delie, J.D., director of labor policy and “Workers for Opportunity” at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Michigan.

“The Legislature recognized that there could be a discrepancy in the reporting of nursing home deaths, so they took appropriate action by asking the Auditor General to do what MDHHS  should have been doing all along,” said Delie. “The Auditor General’s report accurately tracks the number of COVID deaths that are associated with long-term-care facilities, giving a more complete picture of the impact of our state’s COVID-19 response.”

A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the MDHHS in February 2021 by the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation revealed widely variable counting practices. Deaths in long-term care facilities serving 12 residents, and accounting for 76 percent of such facilities in the state, were not included in MDHHS death counts. Facilities without reporting requirements were also not considered in the state’s count.

‘Double-Downed on … Flawed Processes’

At an Oversight Committee hearing, MDHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel accused Ringler of politicizing the findings and intentionally providing misleading information.

Ringler testified that they deliberately used the word “difference” rather than “under-report” to describe the administration’s tally of deaths because they used additional data sources MHHS did not include. “For the long-term care facility related deaths or linked deaths, we knew the department wasn’t tracking all of the ones that we reflected in our letter, so we didn’t feel the word underreport was fair. We cited it as a difference,” said Ringler at the hearing, the Detroit Free Press reported on January 20.

“The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services response to the Auditor General’s report is alarming,” Delie said. “Rather than acknowledging the errors that led to the undercount, and then fixing them, MDHHS has doubled-down on its flawed processes, refusing to make the changes that would result in more accurate data. Whitmer and the Legislature should work together to require the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to track deaths at all long-term care facilities moving forward.”

‘Arbitrary Decisions Were Being Made’

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Whitmer paid nursing homes $5,000 per each COVID-19 positive patient they admitted.

By the summer of 2020, the legislature passed legislation to stop the bounties and require COVID-positive nursing home residents to be housed in separate facilities, but Whitmer vetoed the bill. Later, Whitmer offered a $155,000 severance alongside a nondisclosure agreement to her former health director, who resigned on January 22, 2021. After public pressure, Whitmer withdrew the NDA on March 18, 2021.

“We knew early on that COVID-19 was disproportionately impacting the elderly, but the policy decisions being made didn’t reflect that,” said Delie. “Rather than prioritizing protecting the elderly, arbitrary decisions were being made about what someone could purchase or where they could travel.”

Transparency Lacking

Whitmer is seeking a second gubernatorial term in 2022, but voters appear to be split over her performance.

Whitmer has kept a lower profile since her lockdown policies during the pandemic gained national attention, but she has a responsibility to be completely transparent, says Delie. “The governor has claimed throughout the pandemic that the best science and data were being used to make these decisions,” said Delie. “We now know that this was not the case.”

“Despite recent revelations in the Auditor General’s report, there is still much that hasn’t been released about what was being used to make decisions impacting the lives of ten million people. The governor should commit to being fully transparent and opening her office up to FOIA,” said Delie. “This would help the public get answers and would restore trust.”

‘[Whitmer] Must Be Held Accountable’

Accountability, as well as transparency, are reasons why Robert Regan, an unsuccessful candidate for Michigan House in 2020, has decided to seek election again. Regan raised a red flag on Whitmer’s nursing home policies after reviewing evidence from a fellow Republican.

“In the summer of 2020, State Representative Beau LaFave [R-Iron Mountain] sent me official State of Michigan documents proving Gov. Whitmer issued orders intended to populate nursing homes with patients having tested positive for COVID,” said Regan. “Not only did she issue the order but encouraged the practice by financially incentivizing the nursing homes.”

Regan produced a video on the documents that received over 500,000 views. “Not one media outlet reported on it,” said Regan. If he wins, Regen says he’ll demand an Oversight Committee investigation. Additionally, as a Republican Party Committeeman, he will oppose any attorney general candidate who will not investigate potential criminal culpability.

“Gov. Whitmer’s official orders amount to ‘3rd Degree Murder’ and she must be held accountable,” said Regan.