Andrew Cuomo expected to testify publicly next week about his Covid-era nursing home advisory

By CNN Newsource

Published September 2, 2024 7:44 PM

By Jake Tapper, CNN

(CNN) — Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to testify publicly before Congress soon, likely next week, about his controversial nursing home advisory from the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, informed sources told CNN.

Cuomo testified in June behind closed doors before members of the House Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. The upcoming testimony would be in front of the same panel.

A spokesperson for Cuomo confirmed Monday night that the former governor will testify September 10.

“The one question that needs to be answered is still being ignored: ‘Why did more people die from COVID in the United States than any other country and how do we make sure it never happens again?’ It is Governor Cuomo’s pleasure to join the committee once again to try to get an answer,” said Rich Azzopardi, Cuomo’s spokesperson.

The subcommittee had no comment Monday night.

A 2021 investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, found that the New York State Department of Health undercounted Covid-19 deaths among residents of nursing homes by approximately 50%, essentially by leaving out deaths of residents who had been transferred to hospitals. A 2022 audit by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli concluded that Cuomo’s health department failed to report roughly 4,100 deaths between April 2020 and February 2021.

Cuomo has insisted that advisory was consistent with guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Rep. Brad Wenstrup, the Ohio Republican who chairs the House panel, told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “The Lead” in April that lawmakers wanted to ask the Democratic former governor about the March 2020 advisory, which barred nursing homes from rejecting patients solely on the basis of a Covid-19 diagnosis.

“I’m trying to learn why he would do something like this,” Wenstrup said. “As a doctor who has treated infections, it goes against all medical common sense to take someone who was highly contagious and put them amongst the most vulnerable.”

Cuomo was first elected governor in 2010 and served nearly three full terms before he resigned in August 2021 following the release of a report by James’ office that found he had sexually harassed 11 women. Cuomo has denied the allegations.

CNN’s Mark Morales contributed to this report.