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* AP…
Deaths among Medicare patients in nursing homes soared by 32% last year, with two devastating spikes eight months apart, a government watchdog reported Tuesday in the most comprehensive look yet at the ravages of COVID-19 among its most vulnerable victims.
The report from the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services found that about 4 in 10 Medicare recipients in nursing homes had or likely had COVID-19 in 2020, and that deaths overall jumped by 169,291 from the previous year, before the coronavirus appeared.
“We knew this was going to be bad, but I don’t think even those of us who work in this area thought it was going to be this bad,” said Harvard health policy professor David Grabowski, a nationally recognized expert on long-term care, who reviewed the report for The Associated Press.
“This was not individuals who were going to die anyway,” Grabowski added. “We are talking about a really big number of excess deaths.”
* From the report…
Some States were impacted more than others. By the end of June, more than a quarter of the Medicare beneficiaries in nursing homes in each of 11 States had or likely had COVID-19. These States—Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland,Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania—were also some of the hardest hit in terms of percentage of their general population that contracted the disease during that time. By the end of December, more than half the Medicare beneficiaries in nursing homes in each of four States—Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, and New Jersey—had or likely had COVID-19. […]
Almost 1,000 more beneficiaries died per day in April 2020 than in the previous year.In April 2020 alone, a total of 81,484 Medicare beneficiaries in nursing homes died. This is almost 30,000 more deaths—an average of about 1,000 per day—compared to the previous year. This increase in number occurred even though the nursing home population was smaller in April 2020. Overall, Medicare beneficiaries in nursing homes were almost twice as likely to die in April 2020 than in April 2019. In April 2020, 6.3 percent of all Medicare beneficiaries in nursing homes died, whereas 3.5 percent died in April 2019.
The mortality rates also rose at the end of 2020. In November, 5.1 percent of all Medicare beneficiaries in nursing homes died, and in December that increased to 6.2 percent. Again, these rates are markedly higher than the previous year. In November 2019, 3.6 percent of all Medicare beneficiaries in nursing homes died, and, in December 2019, 3.8 percent did.
* Grabowski’s comment made me think of this Sun-Times story from early April of last year…
Darrel Hickox, a member of the Jasper County Board, disputed the numbers from state public health officials, contending that “nobody” in Jasper County has died from the coronavirus.
He said that members of the media who report on the pandemic are “socialists, liberals and communists.”
“There has been some coronavirus here, but they was dying anyway,” Hickox said.
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Jun 23, 21 @ 9:47 am
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“they was dying anyway”
Any one interested in future lottery numbers, Super Bowl winners, election outcomes may address their query to Darrel Hickox, care of Jasper County Board.
Comment by Flyin' Elvis'-Utah Chapter Wednesday, Jun 23, 21 @ 10:10 am
And now the Jasper County school district has posted that masks will be optional next year for students and staff, and there will be no restrictions on extracurriculars.
Comment by Still Waiting Wednesday, Jun 23, 21 @ 10:15 am
Obviously, there is no competency test required for membership on the Jasper County Board. “They was dying.”
Again, it’s the letter D—Darrel, Darren, Darin, DeVore. “It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool…”
Comment by Rudy’s teeth Wednesday, Jun 23, 21 @ 10:16 am
== “There has been some coronavirus here, but they was dying anyway,” Hickox said.==
This is the most maddening thing about the pandemic, for me anyway. “But they’re old, they were diabetic, they had heart disease” etc etc.
Yes, many of the people who died of Covid were old and had co-morbidities. But those human beings were probably managing their illnesses. They were probably taking their medication and making regular doctor visits. But for Covid, maybe they would have lived a few more years.
Many people don’t give it much thought when they see statistics of an 80-year-old person dying. But what if that person would have lived to be 85, but for Covid? That’s five extra years their grandchildren would have had with them.
Losing a grandparent at age 17 is difficult, but losing them at age 12 can be heartbreaking. And that’s what I think about when selfish people like Darrel Hickox say things like that. I will never understand how or why they say the things they do.
Comment by Can Wednesday, Jun 23, 21 @ 10:16 am
The casual way some looked at life in the midst of the pandemic; others, seniors, the compromised… the true Covidiots who were fine with death, as they thought “everyone dies” as a political statement of freedom…
A society dedicated to protecting the most vulnerable, and ensuring that all can be protected from disease (in this case a virus) is a society that respects life, and no amount of political posturing claiming “freedom”… can equate to a sense of society that being thoughtful to all is.
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Jun 23, 21 @ 10:34 am
We are all dying. Question is when and how.
With that attitude towards people, I don’t think he should be allowed to own a dog.
Comment by Last Bull Moose Wednesday, Jun 23, 21 @ 10:43 am
So…..embryos are sacred.
But Grandma and Grandpa?
Not so much.
Comment by TinyDancer(FKASue) Wednesday, Jun 23, 21 @ 10:50 am
=== So…..embryos are sacred.
But Grandma and Grandpa?
Not so much.===
The thinking must be around political posturing, not about any end goal, including saving any lives.
The self own of the Covidiots “my body my choice” is a clear example of “owning” someone or an ideal supersedes any real belief they claim they have.
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Jun 23, 21 @ 10:53 am
==Dying anyway== A man over 86 is likely a Korean War veteran. Over 94 or WW2 veteran. Woman over 95 probably worked in a defense plant. They were worth saving even for a few more months.
Comment by Anotheretiree Wednesday, Jun 23, 21 @ 11:00 am
I suspect the real number is much higher than 50%. Mrs RNUG’s best friend is in a nursing home, unable to care for herself due to a massive stroke over a year and a half ago. While they shut down visitor access, the place did a lousy job of managing covid internally. Minimal isolation, moving people in and out of rooms without testing, sharing one patient phone among a whole floor, etc. She ended up with it but luckily survived even in her weakened state.
Comment by RNUG Wednesday, Jun 23, 21 @ 11:35 am
What an insensitive and ignorant remark by that County board member. My mother stays at Regency in Springfield. In December they called me to inform me that my mom tested positive for Covid. She just had mild symptoms for several days and recovered. Some 30 residents there had Covid, a few required hospitalization but none died, unlike the Villas in Sherman which had about 30 Covid deaths.
I was told by a reliable source that proper protocols weren’t followed at the Villas. An employee at Regency told me that an employee there went to a large Thanksgiving gathering and contracted Covid and brought it in to the facility. That was a violation of protocol there too.
Comment by The Dude Abides Wednesday, Jun 23, 21 @ 1:05 pm
== “but they was dying anyway,”
Aren’t we all at some stage along that line.
Comment by sal-says Wednesday, Jun 23, 21 @ 1:44 pm
Every year, nursing home residents are highly at risk for the flu. So every nursing home should have already had in place protocols for infection control and a wealth of PPE. They didn’t, of course, because they won’t spend the money for that (preferring to pay big fees to management companies and campaign contributions to both parties). So people died. This should surprise no one.
Comment by Rasselas Wednesday, Jun 23, 21 @ 2:17 pm
The overall picture however is not just Medicare. It’s also MEDICAID. According to the AARP 65% of a LTC nursing home residents have Medicaid and 27% have Medicare. Moreover Medicare only pays for 100 days of skilled nursing. So the numbers of people who died from Covid who had Medicare? They were there less than 100 days. But they are NOT the majority of nursing facility residents. https://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/il/fs10r_homes.pdf
Comment by Quill Wednesday, Jun 23, 21 @ 5:58 pm
Also here is the national dataset on Covid deaths and infections in nursing homes among residents and staff. https://data.cms.gov/stories/s/COVID-19-Nursing-Home-Data/bkwz-xpvg/
Comment by Quill Wednesday, Jun 23, 21 @ 6:00 pm