Cuomo and Top Aides Must Be Held Accountable for Covid-19 Lies

Photo source: C-SPAN

 

NEW YORK – In response to the Times Union’s bombshell news story finding Governor Cuomo lied to Congress during his Covid-19 testimony, Covid-19 accountability activist Peter Arbeeny released the following statement:  

“My father Norman died from COVID-19 in April 2020, shortly after then-Governor Cuomo forced nursing homes to accept COVID-positive patients. Four years later, not only does Cuomo refuse to acknowledge his role in my father’s tragic death — he continues to deny responsibility and lie to the public. Cuomo and his top aides must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.  He must end his campaign of lies and tell the truth about his role in the thousands of tragic Covid deaths from nursing homes in 2020.”

False Claim #1: Cuomo was not involved in his Department of Health’s July 6, 2020 report on the state’s Covid management.

The Facts: In a bombshell new story, Times Union reports “Testimony from multiple former Cuomo officials confirmed that the report had largely been drafted by members of Cuomo’s office.”

False Claim #2: New York’s nursing home executive order was consistent with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s nursing home guidance and with federal guidelines. 

The Facts:

	Andrew Cuomo	Tim Walz	CDC & CMS
Required nursing homes must accept Covid-positive hospital patients	Yes	No	No
Banned nursing homes from requiring Covid-19 tests of hospital patients before admittance	Yes	No	No
Banned nursing homes from denying patients admittance because they were Covid positive	Yes	No	No

Cuomo’s directive required nursing homes to accept Covid-positive hospital patients — “all [nursing homes] must comply with the expedited receipt of residents returning from hospitals.” Both Tim Walz’s guidance and federal guidance were non-mandatory and both Walz’s guidance and federal guidance came with caveats.

Cuomo’s directive forbade nursing homes from waiting on test results before accepting patients — “No resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the NH solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19.” Walz’s and federal guidelines did not.

Cuomo’s guidance banned nursing homes from denying patients admittance because they were Covid positive — “NHs are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested for COVID-19 prior to admission or readmission.” Walz’s and federal guidelines did not.

Minnesota 4/8/20 Guidance: “Patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 who still require transmission-based precautions for COVID-19 can be transferred to congregate living facilities as long as the facility can follow the infection prevention and control recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the care of COVID-19 patients.”

CMS policies issued on March 4, 9, 13 and 23, 2020. 

All versions of federal guidance called for allowing transfers rather than mandating them. 

False Claim #3:  New York had a lower nursing home death rate pro rata than all but 11 states.

The Facts: CMS did not begin collecting its data until mid-May 2020 and made it optional for homes to report deaths retroactively. As a result, CMS is missing thousands of deaths from the worst phase of New York’s first wave. 

For example, CMS counts fewer than 6,000 Covid deaths in New York nursing homes during 2020, which is barely half the 11,400 tallied by the state Health Department.

The data Andrew Cuomo cites specifically notes the data starts in mid-May.

False Claim #4: NY nursing homes were required to accept only residents they could care for.

The Facts: Regulation 10 NYCRR 415.26(i)(1)(ii) required a “nursing home shall accept and retain only those nursing home residents for whom it can provide adequate care.” This regulation was one of many that Cuomo suspended on March 18 as part of Executive Order 202.5. 

False Claim #5: Criticism of Cuomo’s nursing home order and misreporting of data is a GOP hatchet job.

The Facts: The earliest criticism of Cuomo’s nursing home order came from the nursing home industry itself — not from Republicans or Trump. That concern was echoed by legislators of both parties along with family members of residents who were getting sick and dying. Ron Kim, a Democratic Assembly Member from Queens, was one of the earliest critics of Cuomo’s handling of the pandemic in nursing homes.

Thank you.