Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo will testify before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic next week about his administration’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis, including the contentious directive requiring nursing homes to admit COVID-19-positive patients, the New York Post reports.
The hearing, scheduled for September 10, will look into Cuomo’s decisions during the pandemic, which were blamed for the deaths of thousands of elderly residents in the state’s nursing homes.
The subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), announced on Tuesday that it plans to question Cuomo about what it calls “unscientific guidance” that contributed to the fatalities. Wenstrup emphasized that Cuomo owes answers to the families of the 15,000 people who died in New York’s nursing homes as a result of COVID-19.
This public testimony comes after a closed-door, seven-hour transcribed interview with Cuomo in June, during which he reportedly showed no remorse, according to panel members. During that session, lawmakers pressed the former governor on the March 25, 2020 “must admit” order, which required nursing homes in New York to accept patients infected with the virus.
Cuomo defended his actions by blaming the federal government for providing the initial guidance that led to the directive. However, lawmakers on the panel disputed this, pointing out that the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) did not impose such a mandate, leaving the decision to individual states.
Independent reports and investigations, including a 2021 report from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office, have found that Cuomo’s administration underreported the number of nursing home deaths by more than 50%. The total death count was later revised from 8,711 to 12,743 after the release of complete internal data.
Cuomo’s administration has faced continued scrutiny over its handling of the nursing home data. In 2022, New York’s comptroller confirmed that the health department under Cuomo had misled the public by omitting at least 4,100 COVID-19-related deaths in nursing homes.
Despite these findings, Cuomo has maintained that his decisions were based on the best information available at the time, and his spokesperson, Rich Azzopardi, has criticized the House subcommittee for making “false political attacks.” Azzopardi claims that New York adhered to federal guidelines and that the committee’s investigation is politically motivated.
