Government memo crushes Cuomo’s defense in COVID nursing home scandal

Gov. Cuomo has repeatedly defended his administration’s directive for nursing homes to accept COVID-19 patients as the product of federal “guidance” — even though one of those government documents says only that infected seniors “can” be admitted to the facilities.

In contrast, the Health Department’s since-rescinded, March 25 memo left little wiggle room to prevent “medically stable” patients from being transferred out of hospitals to nursing homes.

“During this global health emergency, all NHs must comply with the expedited receipt of residents returning from hospitals to NHs,” the state directive said.

And if there was any doubt about what that meant, the following sentence was underlined: “No resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the NH solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19.”

But a March 13 memo from the US Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services — which the Health Department has cited as justification for its order — contains a Q&A on that very subject.

“When should a nursing home accept a resident who was diagnosed with COVID-19 from a hospital?” it says.