Abuse deficiencies cited in nursing homes more than doubled between 2014 and 2017, according to a Government Accountability Office report released today. Gaps in oversight by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services were among the issues cited in the report. Serious reforms are needed, Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said in a statement. “The results of this report are disturbing, to say the least,” Grassley said. “There is no excuse for the ongoing abuse and neglect happening at nursing homes throughout the country. CMS needs to ramp up its oversight efforts and fix the problems identified by the Government Accountability Office.” The committee today held a hearing titled “Promoting Elder Justice: A Call for Reform,” which explored proposed reforms to reduce neglect and abuse in nursing homes and group homes, as well as the need to reauthorize key provisions of the Elder Justice Act.