WASHINGTON — A congressional hearing on March 4, 2026 examined state-level nursing home policies during the COVID-19 pandemic that witnesses testified led to tens of thousands of preventable deaths among elderly Americans, according to the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic.
The hearing, titled "'Like Fire Through Dry Grass': Nursing Home Mortality & COVID-19 Policies," focused on mandatory admission policies in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania that required nursing homes to accept COVID-positive patients during the early months of the pandemic. Witnesses testified that officials knew from early data that the coronavirus posed extreme risks to elderly populations in congregate care settings, yet proceeded with policies that placed infected individuals alongside vulnerable residents.
According to testimony from Dr. David Grabowski, a Professor of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School, the pandemic devastated American nursing homes with over 1.6 million COVID cases among residents and approximately 176,000 COVID-related deaths. This figure represents roughly 12 percent of all nursing home residents at the pandemic's start, as reported during the hearing. Dr. Grabowski noted additional pandemic-related deaths occurred due to gaps in medical care and increased health complications.
Representative Ami Bera, M.D., a California Democrat and former Chief Medical Officer of Sacramento County, strongly criticized the mandatory admission orders during his testimony. "For the life of me, I can't understand why anyone would take a COVID positive patient and put them in a nursing home," Dr. Bera stated, according to hearing transcripts. He characterized such decisions as "medical malpractice" and emphasized the importance of establishing truth to provide closure for affected families.
Cover-Up Allegations and Data Manipulation
Bill Hammond, Senior Fellow for Health Policy at the Empire Center, testified that state officials engaged in systematic efforts to obscure the true death toll in nursing homes. According to Hammond's testimony, New York officials removed the controversial directive from public view, misrepresented how the policy functioned, and understated mortality figures by approximately 6,000 deaths.
Hammond told the committee that when complete data was finally released following a lawsuit by his organization, the actual death count in New York nursing homes reached close to 15,000 — significantly higher than previously acknowledged figures. The Empire Center, a New York-based research organization, played a key role in revealing critical nursing home mortality data through legal action.
According to hearing testimony, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo suspended a state regulation seven days before issuing the must-admit order. That regulation had previously allowed nursing homes to decline patients they were unable to safely accommodate, Hammond testified.
Family Testimony Reveals Personal Tragedies
Janice Dean, a witness at the hearing, described losing two family members to COVID-19 in New York nursing homes during the spring of 2020. According to her testimony, her father-in-law received a call in late March 2020 informing him that his father had developed a fever and labored breathing. Three hours later, the man was dead. Dean recounted that her husband had to inform his mother by phone that her husband had died while she remained in lockdown at the facility.
The hearing highlighted how state officials allegedly prioritized political considerations over public health guidance from federal agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, according to committee members.
National Context and Facility Safety Records
The risks highlighted in congressional testimony reflect broader challenges in nursing home oversight and infection control. Federal regulations require nursing homes to implement comprehensive infection prevention and control programs, maintain adequate staffing levels, and ensure residents receive appropriate medical care.
Facilities nationwide faced scrutiny during the pandemic for deficiencies in basic care standards. For example, Crenshaw Nursing Home in Los Angeles, California — which is not directly connected to the hearing — maintains a one-star overall rating from CMS based on inspections through August 2025. The 55-bed for-profit facility has accumulated 110 deficiencies across 38 inspections on record, according to CMS data.
Recent inspections at Crenshaw identified failures to treat residents with respect and dignity, delays in reporting suspected abuse or neglect, inadequate care planning, and problems with pressure ulcer prevention — deficiencies cited in August and March 2025 inspections. The facility's one-star health inspection rating and three-star ratings for staffing and quality measures reflect ongoing compliance challenges common across many American nursing homes.
Congressional Investigation Continues
Committee members emphasized their commitment to continuing investigations into pandemic-era nursing home policies and seeking accountability for officials involved in what witnesses characterized as cover-ups of mortality data. The subcommittee is conducting an after-action review of COVID-19 pandemic response as part of its broader oversight responsibilities.
The hearing underscored bipartisan concerns about decision-making processes that placed vulnerable elderly populations at heightened risk during public health emergencies. Lawmakers indicated they would pursue additional testimony and documentation related to state nursing home policies in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Resources for Families
Families concerned about nursing home care quality can contact their state Long-Term Care Ombudsman program for assistance. The California Long-Term Care Ombudsman can be reached at 1-800-231-4024. The national ombudsman hotline is available at 1-800-677-1116, and additional resources are available at ltcombudsman.org.
Residents and family members can also report concerns about care quality directly to state health departments and file complaints with CMS through the online complaint portal or by contacting state survey agencies responsible for nursing home inspections.
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