New York nursing home COVID directive probed by House panel
More than 15,000 New York nursing home residents died during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic after state leaders enforced a binding directive requiring facilities to accept COVID-positive patients, according to an investigation detailed by former U.S. Congressman Brad Wenstrup, who chaired the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic during the 118th Congress.
Cuomo Directive Forced Nursing Homes to Admit COVID Patients
The core dispute centers on a March 25, 2020, order issued under then-Andrew Cuomo. The directive mandated that nursing homes comply with expedited admissions and stated that no resident could be denied admission solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19. Facilities were also barred from requiring a negative test before taking in patients. Over a six-week period, more than 9,000 COVID-positive individuals transferred from hospitals into unprepared nursing homes.
Cuomo repeatedly defended the order by insisting his administration simply followed federal guidance. However, the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic concluded otherwise after reviewing federal records. According to the Subcommittee’s findings, guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) directed facilities to prioritize protecting vulnerable residents and to implement transmission-based precautions before accepting potentially infectious patients. The Subcommittee’s final report stated that the March 25 directive was not consistent with applicable federal guidance on hospital-to-nursing home transfers.
Officials Spar over Accountability for Edited Health Reports
Years after the initial wave, state and federal officials continue to spar over accountability. The Subcommittee referred Cuomo’s denial of editing a July 6, 2020, state health department report to the Justice Department for possible prosecution. Meanwhile, a post-pandemic report by New York Attorney General Letitia James also accepted the premise that the former governor followed federal directives, a conclusion that critics argue obscured accountability.
Bipartisan federal lawmakers have continued pressing for answers from public health authorities. Representative Mike Lawler and Representative Dan Goldman sent formal letters to federal health bodies requesting a definitive determination. Representative Ami Bera criticized the decision, stating that placing COVID-positive patients into facilities with uninfected residents amounted to medical malpractice. When Representative Lawler pressed Governor Kathy Hochul’s administration for records, state officials deflected responsibility to former officials.
Unresolved Demands for Official Determinations
The controversy is compounded by concurrent visitor bans that preceded the admissions order. The state prohibited outside visitors from entering nursing homes just 12 days before requiring facilities to accept COVID-positive patients, leaving thousands of residents isolated during their final days.
Critics, including Wenstrup, argue that federal agencies must officially resolve the ambiguity. Calls persist for the CDC and CMS to issue a formal written determination clarifying whether New York’s March 25 directive genuinely aligned with federal policy at the time. Without a clear official ruling, lawmakers argue that historical accountability remains blocked by conflicting narratives and political self-preservation.