Cuomo Administration Probed Over Nursing-Home Covid-19 Liability Immunity – WSJ

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn are investigating a push by Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration to enact broad protections for nursing homes from lawsuits and criminal prosecution early in the Covid-19 pandemic, according to people familiar with the matter.
Nursing homes were included in a provision giving liability immunity to doctors, hospitals and their executives, as well as healthcare workers on the front lines of the coronavirus outbreak last spring, surprising some lawmakers and healthcare officials. The provision’s language originated in Mr. Cuomo’s office and was presented to state lawmakers in final drafts of the state’s $178 billion budget, according to lawmakers and legislative officials.
Federal prosecutors’ examination of how nursing homes came to be included in the immunity law is part of a broader probe into the Cuomo’s administration’s actions regarding nursing homes during the Covid-19 pandemic. Investigators’ interest in the immunity law was earlier reported by The City, a nonprofit news organization in New York.
Prosecutors are also examining the state’s handling of nursing-home-death data , including a public report in July about factors that led the virus to spread in the facilities, The Wall Street Journal has previously reported.
The prosecutors have subpoenaed a range of information from the governor’s office related to nursing homes, according to a person familiar with the subpoena.