25 October 2020: Cuomo Benefited from "Quid pro Cuomo" Ads by NY Hospital Industry

Hospitals gave Gov. Andrew Cuomo a campaign booster shot: Devine

Miranda Devine's opinion column reviews OpenTheBooks' audit of campaign contributions to Governor Cuomo, in which the nonpartisan fiscal watchdog describes a pay-to-play relationship between contributors and the Governor. Devine focuses on the 'in-kind' support provided by the Greater New York Hospital Association.

When the pandemic hit in March, the association successfully lobbied the Cuomo administration to transfer COVID-positive patients to nursing homes to relieve pressure on hospitals.

Despite warnings from doctors that the move represented “a clear and present danger” to other nursing home residents, Cuomo issued his directive March 25, while federally provided beds in the Javits Center and USNS Comfort hospital ship mainly lay empty.

As we now know, the directive was a death sentence for an estimated 15,000 nursing home residents.

With the move proving to be a legal and public-relations nightmare, the association again struck gold when it lobbied for a budget provision limiting the ability of COVID-19 victims to file malpractice suits against hospitals and nursing homes.

Well satisfied with its investment in the governor, the association then spent millions on TV advertising that praised Cuomo’s management of the pandemic.

You could call the ads a quid pro Cuomo.