Investigating Potential Overlooked Covid-19 Fatalities in New York Nursing Homes?
In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, New York significantly underreported its nursing home deaths in 2020. A report from New York’s Attorney General concluded that these deaths were undercounted by as much as 50%, with official data omitting residents who died after being transferred to hospitals [1][3].
The underreporting stemmed partly from a state directive instructing nursing homes to admit Covid-positive patients from hospitals to free up hospital beds, which complicated accurate death reporting [1]. This omission notably affected New York’s Covid-19 mortality statistics, causing the state to appear better ranked in nursing home death counts than it actually was. By excluding hospital deaths of nursing home residents, New York's official data underrepresented the true impact of Covid-19 fatalities in long-term care facilities [3].
The undercounting raised questions about the state's handling of the pandemic and distorted comparisons with other states’ mortality rankings. In 2021, the New York Attorney General’s Office found the state underreported nursing home deaths by more than 50% [2].
To address concerns about the accuracy of reporting on New York's nursing home deaths, the New York Focus has partnered with Gigafact to produce fact briefs and quick-response fact checks about trending claims relating to New York state [4]. Submissions for claims to be fact-checked can be made through the Gigafact website.
In 2022, an audit by the New York State Comptroller's Office found the state Department of Health withheld critical data and said its Covid-19 reporting "consistently lacked transparency" [5]. The Empire Center for Public Policy, a right-leaning think tank, later confirmed nearly 5,000 additional deaths through a public records request [6].
References:
[1] New York Attorney General's Office. (2021). Report of the New York State Attorney General's Office on the Cuomo Administration's Response to COVID-19 in Nursing Homes. Retrieved from https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cc/report_on_the_cuomo_administrations_response_to_covid-19_in_nursing_homes.pdf
[2] New York Attorney General's Office. (2021). New York Underreported Nursing Home Deaths by More Than 50%. Retrieved from https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2021/new-york-underreported-nursing-home-deaths-more-50
[3] The New York Times. (2021). New York Undercounted Nursing Home Deaths by Thousands, Report Says. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/11/nyregion/nursing-homes-ny-covid-19-deaths.html
[4] New York Focus. (2021). About Us. Retrieved from https://www.newyorkfocus.com/about
[5] New York State Comptroller's Office. (2022). Audit of the New York State Department of Health's Covid-19 Reporting. Retrieved from https://www.osc.state.ny.us/audits/allaudits/2022/2022m18/2022m18s.pdf
[6] The Empire Center for Public Policy. (2021). New York State's Undercount of Covid-19 Deaths in Nursing Homes. Retrieved from https://empirecenter.org/publications/new-york-states-undercount-of-covid-19-deaths-in-nursing-homes/
- The underreporting of nursing home deaths in New York during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, which turned out to be as much as 50% higher than official records indicated, has raised questions about the state's handling of the pandemic and its transparency in reporting.
- In an effort to ensure accurate reporting and address concerns about trending claims, the New York Focus partnered with Gigafact to produce fact briefs and quick-response fact checks about New York state's nursing home deaths.
- The New York Attorney General’s Office found in 2021 that not only nursing home deaths were underreported in 2020 but also, substantially so, by more than 50%.
- In 2022, an audit by the New York State Comptroller's Office revealed that the state Department of Health had withheld critical data related to Covid-19 reporting, citing a lack of transparency in the state's reporting practices.
- The Empire Center for Public Policy conducted a public records request and confirmed nearly 5,000 additional deaths that were not included in the state's official data.
- The ongoing investigation into New York's Covid-19 reporting and policy decisions, particularly as they relate to Medicaid, medical-conditions, health-and-wellness, politics, general news, and long-term care facilities, continues to be a focal point in the public discourse about how the state managed the pandemic.
