House Oversight subpoenas info on COVID nursing home deaths in New York

A House Oversight subcommittee issued a subpoena to the New York governor’s office as it continues to investigate deaths in the state’s nursing homes during the Coronavirus pandemic. The committee is asking for documents and communications that shed light on the Cuomo administration's decision to readmit patients who tested positive for COVID , despite being aware of the dangers to the elderly.

More than 13,000 people died in New York nursing homes during the pandemic. The House Committee found former democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration tried to shift the blame for the deaths.

The subpoena was announced while Cuomo was testifying before Congress. He was asked tough questions about his handling of the health crisis, and whether some of his health directives followed federal law and health guidance.

Here are some of the hearings key moments:

Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif: “Let me just ask you directly, and let me remind you that you are under oath. Governor. Did you direct your staff to make the number of nursing home related fatalities lower than they actually were?”

Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D-N.Y: "No. We said these are the numbers without the out-of-facility death numbers, which we will add when they're accurate, which will reduce the hospital count number but the total death number stays exactly the same.

"It was an allocation question — do you allocate the death to the nursing home, or do you allocate it to the hospital? But the total death number was the same. And the only reason the Republicans were asking these questions about nursing home deaths was to further their conspiracy theory that there were massive deaths in nursing homes, which, in my opinion, was a pure diversion from the federal malpractice that was going on.”

Chairman Brad Wenstrup , R-Ohio: “Former White House coronavirus coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx, she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020, she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance. Is it your position that Dr. Birx lied?”

Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D-N.Y: “My position is you deceived Dr. Birx. You suggested to Dr. Birx that we did not have transmission based precautions in place and that was not true.”

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