Rep. Mike Garcia Reacts to News that Gov. Newsom Ignored Guidance to Protect the Most Vulnerable Against COVID-19
Newsom housed senior COVID-19 patients in nursing homes despite warnings

Upon discovering that nearly half of California’s 5,515 COVID-19 related deaths occurred within nursing homes, Representative Mike Garcia reached out to the House of Representatives’ Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis for more specific statistics. Representative Steve Scalise (LA-01), the Ranking Member of the Select Subcommittee, shared critical information concerning the devastating effects COVID-19 has had on nursing home residents and long-term care patients due to the irresponsible decisions made by a handful of governors across the United States including Governor Newsom. Rep. Scalise found that the governors of five states forced nursing homes to take in COVID-19 positive patients as part of their response to the pandemic despite guidance from the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) advising against this practice unless the facility could follow CDC’s quarantining guidance.

“The death toll in California’s nursing homes is a tragedy. Even worse – many of these deaths were preventable,” said Republican Whip Steve Scalise, the Ranking Member of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis. “Governor Newsom mandated that nursing homes accept untested and contagious COVID-19 patients. Despite the governor reversing this ill-conceived mandate, Californians deserve to know why it was enacted in the first place. If state officials will not be transparent and accountable to their constituents, then Congress must step in and shine a light on the flawed decision making behind the scandal.”

Rep. Mike Garcia requested a briefing on this issue once he learned that California was one of the states that ignored critical guidance from CMS. During that briefing, CMS data showed almost 30,000 nursing home residents and nearly 500 staff have fallen to COVID-19, but experts suggest that the number is closer to 60,000. The data also indicated California had 2,644 nursing home deaths. Compared with other states of similar size, California has 11.23 nursing home deaths per 1,000 nursing home residents, whereas Florida has 9.07 and Texas has 6.2; a 124% increase and 180% increase respectively.

“Shame on our state’s leadership in Sacramento for blatantly ignoring guidance from CMS and, in turn, endangering the most vulnerable among us,” said Rep. Mike Garcia. “Rather than doing everything within our power to flatten the curve and protect our seniors, Governor Newsom instead ordered that nursing homes ‘shall not refuse’ a patient with a positive COVID-19 test.”

Despite the guidance from CMS, Governor Newsom even offered a cash incentive of $1,000 per day per patient to house COVID-19 positive patients in nursing homes and long-term care facilities.

“Governor Newsom’s decision to entice nursing homes with taxpayer dollars to house COVID-19 positive patients among our seniors is disappointing. That money should have been pointed towards prevention rather than placing vulnerable citizens in danger. I fully support Representative Scalise’s call on the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis to open an oversight investigation into the actions of Governor Newsom and others,” concluded Rep. Mike Garcia.

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