Andrew Cuomo Set to Testify Publicly Before Congress for the FIRST TIME on COVID-19 Nursing Home Scandal that Killed Tens of Thousands of Seniors

🚨BREAKING🚨

Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo will testify publicly before Congress for the FIRST TIME regarding his COVID-19 nursing home policies at a @COVIDSelect hearing on September 10, 2024. pic.twitter.com/oRVMvBgukN

— Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic (@COVIDSelect) September 3, 2024

 “Andrew Cuomo owes answers to the 15,000 families who lost loved ones in New York’s nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Wenstrup. “On September 10, Americans will have the opportunity to hear directly from the former governor about New York’s potentially fatal nursing home policies.”

“During closed-door testimony, Mr. Cuomo was shockingly callous when pressed to explain discrepancies in nursing home death counts, repeatedly deflected responsibility for the nursing home directive, and most egregiously, showed little remorse for the thousands of lives lost.”

“A true leader owns up to his mistakes and takes responsibility for wrongdoing. That is not what we saw from Mr. Cuomo during his term as governor nor during his transcribed interview. We hope that during his public hearing next week, Mr. Cuomo will stop dodging accountability and honestly answer the American people.”

Cuomo’s actions during the pandemic, particularly his administration’s directives that forced COVID-19 patients back into nursing homes, have been widely condemned as one of the most egregious failures in pandemic management.

A 2020 study revealed 45% of all US coronavirus deaths occurred in nursing homes. Only 0.6% of the US population lives in nursing homes, but over 45% of the coronavirus deaths were in these centers.

The infamous directive, issued by New York’s Department of Health, mandated that nursing homes accept COVID-19 patients from hospitals, effectively turning these facilities into breeding grounds for the virus.

During the peak of the pandemic in March 2020, his administration issued directives mandating that nursing homes accept COVID-19 patients without requiring testing. This reckless policy not only endangered residents but also turned New York into a national epicenter for COVID-19-related nursing home deaths.

The New York Department of Health’s orders included, per Yaacov Apelbaum from the Illustrated Primer:

• Expedited admissions: All nursing homes must comply with the return of residents from hospitals without testing.
• No denial based on diagnosis: Residents could not be denied admission based on confirmed or suspected COVID-19 diagnoses.

The reasons behind Cuomo’s deadly directives revealed a web of corruption and cronyism. In 2018, as Governor Andrew Cuomo faced a challenge to his reelection bid in the New York State Democratic primary, he got a last-minute $1m cash infusion from the General New York Hospital Association (GNYHA)—a powerful NY healthcare industry group.

On April 2, 2020, he repaid the favor when he quietly signed legislation shielding hospital and nursing home executives from any lawsuits stemming from the coronavirus outbreak.

The clauses, inserted into the annual budget bill by Cuomo, gave blanket immunity protections for healthcare industry executive and administrators, the same individuals and institutions that have made a fortune moving sick Covid-19 patients to nursing homes.

The GNYHA’s influence over Cuomo was evident, as the organization funneled millions of dollars into Democrat campaigns, with Cuomo and his state party committee receiving nearly $2.3 million.

In return, Cuomo’s directive forcing COVID-19 patients back into elderly homes resulted in a windfall for healthcare organizations associated with the GNYHA, who profited handsomely from the influx of COVID patients. It was a bonanza for these entities, but a death sentence for thousands of New Yorkers.

The March 25, 2020 nursing home edict issued by the New York state (NYS) Department of Health (DOH) is NOT the only order NYS enacted, which mandated that COVID-19-infected patients got sent into congregate care facilities from hospitals.

NYS ALSO sent COVID-19-infected patients into adult care facilities (ACFs) and into group homes managed under the NYS Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD).

GRTWT.