Healthcare

Scalise Asks Dems To Hold Governors Accountable Who Sent COVID Patients To Nursing Homes

Published

3 years ago

June 11, 2020

Rep. Steve Scalise, R-LA, is putting governors on notice who ordered nursing homes to take COVID-19 patients knowing they were most vulnerable to it leading to thousands of avoidable deaths.

Scalise, who is the Ranking Member of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, opened the subcommittee’s briefing Thursday by demanding that the governors who implemented the deadly policy be held accountable. Moreover, he’s sending a letter requesting answers from state leaders.

Multiple Democrat governors ignored health protocols and forced nursing homes to take in coronavirus-positive patients. The results were tragic and completely avoidable.

Will House Democrats join our efforts to hold those governors accountable? pic.twitter.com/v0UJwL5ETo

— Select Committee Republicans (@SelectGOP) June 11, 2020

“The decision of several governors to essentially mandate COVID-positive patients go back to their nursing homes ended up being a death sentence, Scalise said. “New York has suffered 6,318 deaths in nursing homes. New Jersey – 6,327. Compare that to Florida – a retirement state – 1,454. On a per-capita basis, nursing home deaths in New York are 500 percent higher than Florida and New Jersey is 1,120 percent higher than Florida.”

“Other states, like Michigan, California, and Pennsylvania that forced COVID-positive patients back to nursing homes have similar, tragic disparities.”

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued the original guidance for nursing homes on February, 6. The first nursing home outbreak, however, was after the CMS had issued that warning. From there, states continued to ignore CMS’s orders throughout the months of March and April.

Scalise added, “But unfortunately, on March 25th, Governor Cuomo’s health department issued a directive in contradiction to CMS guidance by mandating nursing homes to take COVID-19 positive patients. New Jersey essentially copied New York’s order – also with deadly results. Two weeks earlier, Governor DeSantis of Florida prohibited transferring COVID-19 positive patients from hospitals to nursing homes. Very different orders yielded very different results.”

“On March 18th, Pennsylvania also issued guidance mandating nursing homes continue to accept new admissions and readmissions including patients that have COVID-19. While defending this decision, Pennsylvania’s own Health Secretary moved her mother out of a nursing home,” Scalise said.

“On April 15th, the Governor of Michigan issued a similar Executive Order mandating nursing homes accept patients regardless of COVID-19 status. Michigan State Democratic Representative Leslie Love criticized the Governor’s reckless order calling it ‘an epic fail.’ Mr. Chairman, shockingly, that order remains in effect today. I call on Governor Whitmer to rescind this order immediately and I hope my colleagues will join me in standing up for the patients and families in Michigan.”

Scalise is also asking his fellow subcommittee members to sign onto his letter to the governors.

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China

FDA will work with China to import cancer drugs due to U.S. shortages

Published

2 days ago

June 7, 2023

Sara Carter Staff

Earlier this week the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it will be working to import chemotherapy drugs from, of all places, China. The drug, called Cisplatin, is to help “ramp up supply amidst rampant drug shortages in the U.S.” reports Foreign Desk News.

Foreign Desk News writes:

Cisplatin comes from drugmaker Qilu Pharmaceutical, which is marketed and produced in China but has not been approved by the FDA. According to a May 24 letter, Qilu will work with the Canadian-based drug company Apotex to import and distribute the medication, which will come in 50-milligram vials with Chinese labels.

“The FDA is responding to yet another generic drug shortage,” said Edmund F. Haislmaier, an expert in healthcare policy and markets at The Heritage Foundation. “The underlying cause of those shortages is that generic drugs have become low-margin commodity products,” he added.

Last week on Twitter, FDA commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said the partnership with Qilu Pharmaceutical is temporary but will provide patients with a potentially life-extending drug.

“The public should rest assured that we will continue all efforts within our authority to help the industry that manufactures and distributes these drugs meet all patient needs for the oncology drugs impacted by shortages,” Califf said.

The public should rest assured that we will continue all efforts within our authority to help the industry that manufactures and distributes these drugs meet all patient needs for the oncology drugs impacted by shortages. https://t.co/8XvOuJzSL4

— Dr. Robert M. Califf (@DrCaliff_FDA) June 3, 2023

Foreign Desk News adds:

The latest move by the FDA is sure to spark concern and debate in Congress, as lawmakers in the House and Senate have called on the Biden administration to de-couple the U.S. economy from the Chinese markets, given Beijing’s aggressive push to expand in the South-China Sea and eventually take over the island state of Taiwan. China has also spread illegal and dangerous synthetic opioids and fentanyl drugs across the U.S. southern border, resulting in the devastating deaths of many Americans.