House Panel to Question Former Governor Cuomo on Nursing Home Deaths amid COVID

A House select subcommittee is set to hold a transcribed interview with former New York Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday to discuss the state’s high number of nursing home deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic subpoenaed Cuomo in March.

“Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo implemented nursing home policies that had deadly consequences for New York’s most vulnerable population,” Chair Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, said in a statement. “Not only did the former Governor put the elderly in harm’s way, but he also attempted to cover-up his failures by hiding the true nursing home death rate. It appears that politics, not medicine, was responsible for these decisions.”

During the height of the COVID crisis, Cuomo issued an executive order mandating that nursing homes accept patients who had been hospitalized for COVID-19 and were in recovery. More than 15,800 New York nursing home residents died during the pandemic.

“Former Governor Cuomo owes answers to the 15,000 families who lost loved ones in New York nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Wenstrup said. “His testimony is crucial to uncovering the circumstances that led to his misguided policies and ensuring that fatal mistakes are not repeated.

“It is long overdue for Cuomo to be held accountable to Congress and provide honest answers to the American people.”

Cuomo has defended his executive order by citing guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services at the time, as reported by the Washington Examiner.

Cuomo stepped down from his position in August 2021 following allegations of sexual harassment. Evidence uncovered during his impeachment investigation revealed that the governor’s office had tampered with the number of nursing home deaths in a report from the New York State Department of Health.

Wenstrup’s committee has already conducted transcribed interviews with members of Cuomo’s administration, including Dr. Howard Zucker, the former commissioner of the New York State Department of Health.

The committee issued a subpoena to Cuomo after he ignored requests for nine months, refused to negotiate interview schedules, and provided unreasonable availability.