The Mackinac Center worked with Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Charlie LeDuff last year to investigate how well the state tracked COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes. Our initial findings suggested that as many as 40% of all Michigan COVID-19 deaths could be tied to a long-term care facility. Seeing our investigation, the House Oversight Committee called on the Office of the Auditor General to review the state’s data. The resulting report shows that the Whitmer administration miscounted deaths among Michigan’s vulnerable and elderly population.
The office concluded that deaths associated with COVID-19 in long-term care facilities were 42% higher than officially reported. As of July 2, 2021, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reported a total of 5,675 deaths in long-term care facilities. The auditor found that the actual death toll was 8,061, meaning that 37% of all COVID-19 deaths in Michigan can be traced to these facilities.
The Whitmer administration knew this report was forthcoming and tried to rebut it before it was even published. After it was released, the health department’s director, Elizabeth Hertel, doubled down by arguing with the report’s methodology. She claimed that the Auditor General’s office tracked deaths at facilities that were never required to report them, adding that the office used a health department database not meant for tracking deaths. READ MORE
