Republican gubernatorial candidates are pushing baseless attacks against Governor Whitmer for political gain.
Report after report, including from AARP and the University of Michigan, show Governor Whitmer’s leadership saved lives, and nursing home experts and senior advocates agree.
Michigan followed CDC guidelines and accurately reported COVID deaths. Michigan never forced nursing homes to take COVID patients.
Republicans Are Spreading False Attacks to Score Political Points,
- “We have not seen any evidence or testimony that says that a nursing home was forced to take someone against their will.” – GOP Senator Ed McBroom
- “There’s *zero* public evidence tying specific deaths to any specific policy. We’ve repeatedly asked Republicans accusing Whitmer of killing people for proof. Have received none” – Dave Boucher, Detroit Free Press
- “The [Michigan Republican Party] here using the Auditor General’s review to accuse [Governor Whitmer] of killing long-term care facility patients without proof. The report doesn’t say that and it doesn’t draw conclusions about a specific policy.” – Grant Hermes, WDIV
- “Michigan Republicans are doubling down on claims the state undercounted COVID-19 deaths in long-term care facilities, even though the state auditor general has deemed the notion ‘unfair.’” – Bridge Michigan
- “At no point has anyone presented evidence of a single case where an otherwise healthy resident died after contracting COVID-19 from another patient a nursing home was forced to take.” – Detroit Free Press
- “Republicans look for smoking gun on Whitmer’s handling of coronavirus in nursing homes. The data doesn’t indicate there is one.” – MLive
- “I hear these allegations and ask, ‘Where is the evidence?’” […] “There is no evidence.” – Marianne Udow-Phillips, University of Michigan’s Center for Health Research Transformation
- “Michigan Republicans’ efforts to hang deliberate underreporting of Covid deaths in state nursing homes on the Whitmer administration appeared to fall flat” – Deadline Detroit
Michigan Accurately Reported COVID Deaths
- Auditor General Ringler confirmed that the state accurately tracked nursing home data, writing, “We verified MDHHS accurately posted to the Michigan Coronavirus Dashboard the […] deaths the LTC facilities self-reported.”
- “The auditor general’s report did verify the state health department’s count of COVID-19 deaths among long-term care facilities that were required to report to the state, per CDC guidelines.” – MLive
- “At no point […] did Ringler say the Michigan health department violated the law, intentionally misled the public or tried to cover up deaths.” – Detroit Free Press
- “Michigan auditor general: Unfair to call nursing home COVID death count an ‘under-report‘” – The Detroit News
