July 17, 2020

The Honorable Alex M. Azar II, Secretary Department of Health and Human Services 200 Independence Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20201

Dear Secretary Azar,

We write regarding the Department of Health and Human Services July 10th document entitled “COVID-19 Guidance for Hospital Reporting and FAQs For Hospitals, Hospital Laboratory, and Acute Care Facility Data Reporting” which makes changes to how these facilities report COVID-19 data.

We’re troubled by reports that the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has been removed from the data collection process and that hospitals, hospital laboratory and acute care facilities are now required to report COVID-19 capacity and utilization data directly to the Department of Health and Human Services, and the information will no longer be available to the public. We respectfully request additional information regarding your agency’s current data reporting requirements and the changes reflected in the July 10th guidance.

The CDC remains our nation’s preeminent public health agency and is home to our nation’s best experts and expertise on public health data collection and analysis. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 public health emergency, CDC has been responsible for collecting data from health care facilities on COVID-19 hospitalizations, cases and availability of medical supplies. This information was previously collected through the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) which prior to the COVID-19 pandemic was the United States’ most widely used healthcare-associated infection tracking system. Hospitals had extensive experience using this reporting system, which was quickly adapted to the current public health emergency, and providers have indicated that transitioning to a new data reporting system amid the ongoing pandemic will be burdensome. We’re concerned that changing reporting requirements for facilities as COVID-19 cases increase across the country is a poor use of our health care workers time and resources and we want to better understand the current data reporting burden on health care providers and why the decision was made to transition from reporting to NHSN to reporting to the new TeleTracking and HHS Protect systems at this time.

In addition, NHSN data was publicly available, and to date, you have not guaranteed that data collected through this new reporting system will be made publicly available. This lack of transparency raises serious concerns about the accountability of your department at a time when the American people are seeking trustworthy information about the ongoing pandemic. We urge you to make the data collected, regardless of the reporting system, available publicly to aid in our understanding and response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Please respond to the following questions by July 31, 2020:

1. What agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services (i.e. Centers for Disease Control, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) currently require hospitals, hospital laboratory and acute care facilities to report COVID-19 data?

2. What data, including the source and type of data and the frequency of reporting, is the Department of Health and Human Services currently collecting from hospitals, hospital laboratory, and acute care facilities?

3. Do any other Administration initiatives, such as the Coronavirus Task Force, currently require data reporting from hospitals, hospital laboratory and acute care Facilities? If so, what is the type and frequency of this reporting?

4. What arrangements are currently in place to allow the CDC to access and analyze the data now reported to TeleTracking and HHS Protect?

5. Will TeleTracking and HHS Protect data be shared with the public, including medical researchers, the press, and state and local partners, and if not, why?

6. Why is NHSN currently insufficient and what additional resources or Congressional authorization does CDC need to more effectively and efficiently carry out COVID-19 data reporting?

We encourage you to communicate proactively and directly with Members of Congress when your agency makes decisions of this nature during the ongoing public health emergency. It is imperative that your agency remain transparent and accountable as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to devastate our nation. We appreciate your attention to these questions and look forward to your prompt response.

Sincerely,

______Anna G. Eshoo Scott H. Peters Member of Congress Member of Congress

Donald S. Beyer Jr. Gilbert R. Cisneros, Jr. Member of Congress Member of Congress

Ami Bera, M.D. Lisa Blunt Rochester Member of Congress Member of Congress André Carson Member of Congress Member of Congress

Tony Cárdenas Madeleine Dean Member of Congress Member of Congress

Jamie Raskin Robin L. Kelly Member of Congress Member of Congress

Lauren Underwood Susan Wild Member of Congress Member of Congress

Joe Courtney Member of Congress Member of Congress

David Trone Nanette Diaz Barragán Member of Congress Member of Congress

Ann Kuster Sheila Jackson Lee Member of Congress Member of Congress

Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. Denny Heck Member of Congress Member of Congress

Gwen Moore Jim Cooper Member of Congress Member of Congress

Zoe Lofgren James R. Langevin Member of Congress Member of Congress

Nydia M. Velázquez Suzan DelBene Member of Congress Member of Congress

G. K. Butterfield Bill Foster Member of Congress Member of Congress

Thomas R. Suozzi Lucille Roybal-Allard Member of Congress Member of Congress

Darren Soto Rosa L. DeLauro Member of Congress Member of Congress

Kathleen M. Rice Eliot Engel Member of Congress Member of Congress

Kim Schrier, M.D. Member of Congress Member of Congress

Brenda L. Lawrence Mark DeSaulnier Member of Congress Member of Congress

Derek Kilmer Jerry McNerney Member of Congress Member of Congress

Chrissy Houlahan Ed Case Member of Congress Member of Congress

Joseph P. Kennedy, III David E. Price Member of Congress Member of Congress

Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. Susan Davis Member of Congress Member of Congress

Eddie Bernice Johnson Colin Z. Allred Member of Congress Member of Congress

Linda T. Sánchez Member of Congress Member of Congress

Raul Ruiz, M.D. Grace F. Napolitano Member of Congress Member of Congress

Ted Deutch Terri A. Sewell Member of Congress Member of Congress

TJ Cox Sean Casten Member of Congress Member of Congress

Veronica Escobar Abigail D. Spanberger Member of Congress Member of Congress

Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. Suzanne Bonamici Member of Congress Member of Congress

Al Lawson John P. Sarbanes Member of Congress Member of Congress

Stephen F. Lynch Gerald E. Connolly Member of Congress Member of Congress

James P. McGovern Peter A. DeFazio Member of Congress Member of Congress

Marcia L. Fudge Member of Congress Member of Congress

Paul Tonko Bobby L. Rush Member of Congress Member of Congress

Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan Debbie Dingell Member of Congress Member of Congress

Mark Takano Brian Higgins Member of Congress Member of Congress

Tulsi Gabbard Angie Craig Member of Congress Member of Congress

Filemon Vela Member of Congress Member of Congress

Adam B. Schiff Rick Larsen Member of Congress Member of Congress

Earl Blumenauer Ted W. Lieu Member of Congress Member of Congress

Debbie Wasserman Schultz Dina Titus Member of Congress Member of Congress