WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) joined Senators Patty Murray (D-WI) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in urging Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma to protect people with disabilities and older adults and finally expand data collection and reporting on COVID-19 cases in congregate care facilities-including assisted living facilities, institutions for people with disabilities, and mental health facilities. Despite the importance of data collection for identifying and responding to COVID-19 outbreaks, current gaps in CMS guidance are leaving many people with disabilities and older Americans at risk.

“Despite the high risk of contracting COVID-19 for older Americans, children and adults with mental illness, and children and adults with disabilities living in or receiving services in congregate care settings, there are huge gaps in federal reporting requirements for these facilities,” wrote the Senators in a letter to Administrator Verma. “As a result, federal government officials, public health experts, and the public have no comprehensive information on COVID-19 occurrence and fatality rates in various congregate care settings-all while residents continue to face a significant public health threat.”

In their letter, the Senators note that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has already issued guidance on nursing homes recommending that states issue new reporting requirements and conduct inspections. But despite the similar risk of COVID-19 outbreaks in other congregate care settings, the Trump administration has lacked federal guidance for other facilities that serve people with disabilities and older adults.

The Senators are urging Administrator Verma to expand current federal reporting regulations beyond nursing homes to include other congregate care facilities and immediately act on serious health and safety findings in these facilities.

Senator Hassan is working to support older adults and individuals with disabilities amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In August, Senator Hassan joined a bipartisan group of her colleagues in requesting that federal health agencies bolster efforts to protect residents and workers in nursing homes. Additionally, the Senator joined the rest of the New Hampshire Congressional Delegation in announcing $11.4 million in funding through the CARES Act to help New Hampshire nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Senator Hassan also recently led a group of her colleagues in requesting that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) outline its process for ensuring that a future COVID-19 vaccine is safe for older adults. And the Senator is pushing for key provisions related to Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS), which are crucial to supporting individuals with disabilities and older Americans, to be included in any future COVID-19 relief package.