When pay to play brings death. Cuomo allegedly made a deal with the nursing home lobbies then hid the bodies. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is a high profile long term menace to the Democratic Party.

Legislation allegedly written by the nursing home lobby groups giving sweeping immunity to nursing homes was signed into law by Governor Cuomo. Cuomo then tried to hide the actual number of dead from COVID at nursing homes. 

 “I would imagine that [the lobby groups] don’t want any more investigations into their potential pay to play schemes,” said New York Assembly Member Ron Kim, a Democrat. “The timeline proves [pay to play] may have happened around corporate immunity."

"Many actors benefited from the immunity provision. LeadingAge New York, a trade association for nursing homes, told the Wall Street Journal that it had requested the provision. Anonymous sources quoted by the Wall Street Journal said that the powerful Greater New York Hospital Association did not lobby for the nursing home provision, but the association bragged in an April 2 press release flagged by the Daily Poster that the immunity provision, which it 'drafted,' included “nursing homes.' The Greater New York Hospital Association has donated over $1 million to pro-Cuomo committees since 2018, the Daily Poster has reported. GNYHA has also retained DeRosa’s father, Giorgio DeRosa, as a highly-compensated lobbyist."

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Numerous lawsuits have been filed as class action suits, with the class consisting of all residents of a particular nursing home who were injured or died as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.16

16 In Pennsylvania, a class of plaintiffs sued a long-term care facility alleging violations of numerous federal laws, such as the ADA, and even one international human rights law. Gill et al. v. PA Dep’t of Health (E.D. P.A. 2020), case no. 2:20-cv-02038. 

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COVID-19 Liability Shields for Nursing Homes and Long-Term Care Facilities in the U.S.

A full spectrum investigation by James into the Cuomo administration’s handling of the nursing home crisis could expose a much broader set of powerful actors in the state — actors that DiNapoli, who is considering a run for governor, would confront by making the referral demanded by the families of nursing home Covid-19 victims. “I would imagine that [the lobby groups] don’t want any more investigations into their potential pay to play schemes,” said New York Assembly Member Ron Kim, a Democrat. “The timeline proves [pay to play] may have happened around corporate immunity.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James needs a referral from Comptroller Tom DiNapoli to investigate the Cuomo administration’s mishandling of coronavirus.

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One Man Is Standing in the Way of an Investigation into Cuomo’s Nursing Home Scandal