With Andrew Cuomo mulling a political comeback, one potential Democratic rival is now asking the feds to weigh in on a controversial edict the ex-governor imposed in nursing homes at the height of the pandemic.
City Comptroller, and mayoral candidate, Brad Lander is requesting US health officials determine whether Cuomo’s infamous March 25, 2020, order requiring nursing homes to accept COVID-19 positive patients discharged from hospitals violated federal policy and guidance — which some analysts claim contributed to thousands of elderly deaths.
“Governor Cuomo has consistently stated that the March 25, 2020 directive followed federal CMS and CDC guidance,” the comptroller wrote in a Dec. 17 letter to heads of the CDC and CMS.
Lander questioned “whether this directive was in alignment with federal guidelines issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during that period.”
In his letter, Lander also pointed to Congress’ coronavirus subcommittee findings that concluded the March 25 directive was “inconsistent with the applicable federal guidelines,” and that Cuomo testified he did not speak to anyone at CMS or CDC either before or after these directives were issued.
“Given the critical nature of this issue and its implications for public health policy and accountability, I respectfully request an explanation of how the March 25 directive aligned—or failed to align—with the referenced federal guidelines,” he wrote.
This month’s House majority report accused Cuomo of committing “medical malpractice” and undercounting COVID-related nursing home deaths in New York during the pandemic.
The report also concluded that the ex-governor “likely gave false statements” during his testimony. --->READ MORE HERE
Former Philadelphia Eagles running back Wendell Smallwood Jr. has pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges after he was accused of submitting fraudulent tax returns and applications for hundreds of thousands of dollars in COVID-19 pandemic aid programs.
The signed plea agreement was approved Friday by a federal judge in Delaware. Smallwood, of Mullica Hill, New Jersey, faces sentencing in May on the three fraud charges.
Smallwood’s lawyer, Mark Sheppard, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that Smallwood appeared in court Friday “and forthrightly took full responsibility for his actions. He recognizes that this is but the first step to try to begin to make amends to the government and to those closest to him. He will continue to do so.”
Smallwood, 30, was originally charged in October.
He filed false tax returns for himself and others in 2021 and 2022, drawing refunds for himself of about $110,000, prosecutors said. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to relevant/related stories and resources:
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