A June 2021 report by the HHS Office of Inspector General found a horrific increase in the death rate of nursing home residents in 2020 beyond deaths caused by Covid-19. The report – COVID-19 Had a Devastating Impact on Medicare Beneficiaries in Nursing Homes During 2020 – reveals that deaths of Medicare beneficiaries in nursing homes during 2020 increased by 169,291 from the previous year. It also found that beneficiaries in nursing homes who were Black, Hispanic, Asian or on Medicaid were more likely to get COVID-19 and to die from it than others. The report concluded that understanding the pandemic’s effects on nursing home residents is necessary to prevent future tragedies.
(posted June 25, 2021)