Azar Defended Controversial Hospital Data Collection Before Exiting HHS

In its last 24-hours, the Trump administration painted its hospital COVID-19 data reporting program as a model for the future of data collection, despite the controversy that surrounded the program’s initial rollout. The effort was heavily criticized by lawmakers who saw it as a way to potentially politicize COVID-19 data and by hospitals that were upset the data reporting was tied to Medicare and Medicaid eligibility. One of the last programs Trump’s HHS touted before leaving office was its public...