Department of Justice seeks data on New York, NJ, PA and Michigan nursing home deaths

ALBANY -- The U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday it is requesting details on decisions by four states during the COVID-19 crisis that may have contributed to the deaths of thousands of people in nursing homes.

The Justice Department said the information will help it determine whether to launch an official investigation into nursing home deaths under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan.

"Protecting the rights of some of society's most vulnerable members, including elderly nursing home residents, is one of our country's most important obligations," Eric Dreiband, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division, said in a statement.

New York has reported more than 6,500 nursing home deaths since the pandemic struck in March, yet the state has only tallied the deaths of those who died in the homes, not in hospitals. So critics said the current figure doesn't provide a full picture of the issue.

New Jersey and Pennsylvania have each reported more than 7,000 deaths of staff and residents of nursing homes.

But how extensive the inquiry may be is unclear: The Department of Justice may only be able to look at a small fraction of the homes, mainly ones that are public facilities.

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Battle over nursing home deaths between states and feds

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has defended the state's response in nursing homes.

New York has the most COVID-19 deaths in the nation, with more than 25,200, but it now has among the country's lowest infection rates.

In a joint statement, Cuomo and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called the federal government's move "nothing more than a transparent politicization of the Department of Justice in the middle of the Republican National Convention."

Cuomo has sparred with President Donald Trump over the coronavirus response, knocking the federal government for not shutting down travel from Europe sooner and for not having a more formalized plan to help states.

Whitmer and Cuomo said the Department of Justice announcement comes amid the U.S. Centers for Disease Control loosening some COVID restrictions and targets only Democratic states.

"At least 14 states – including Kentucky, Utah and Arizona – have issued similar nursing guidance all based on federal guidelines – and yet the four states listed in the DOJ's request have a Democratic governor," Whitmer and Cuomo said in a joint statement.

"DOJ should send a letter to CMS and CDC since the State's advisories were modeled after their guidance."

More: Cuomo criticizes federal COVID response in Democratic National Convention speech

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Debate continues over nursing home policies

At issue is state directives early in the crisis that allowed nursing home residents with COVID-19 to return home and be put in isolation.

Critics said the move led to the virus' spread among the vulnerable population, but Cuomo's administration countered with a Department of Health report that put the blame on staff and visitors who likely brought the virus in with them unknowingly at the onset of the pandemic.

Republicans, in particular, have seized on a March 25 order in New York that allowed nursing home residents to return home with the virus. The state reversed the policy in May, saying they would need to stay in hospitals until they tested negative.

"The Cuomo administration, unlike any other state in the nation, refused to provide an accurate number of nursing home residents who passed away during the pandemic and continually stonewalls lawmakers and families who seek answers," Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt, R-North Tonawanda, Niagara County, said in a statement.

How extensive the Department of Justice's inquiry will be is uncertain.

The Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act can be applied mainly to investigate public nursing homes, which would only be about 7% or 30 of 622 New York's nursing homes, according to Bill Hammond, director of health policy at the Empire Center, an Albany-based think tank.

Rich Azzopardi, a senior advisor to Cuomo, wrote on Twitter, it would apply to a mere five homes.

The Department of Justice noted that its inquiry is "not accusations of fault or wrongdoing by the states or any other individual or entity, and the department has not reached any conclusions about these matters."

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Joseph Spector is the New York state editor for the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at JSPECTOR@Gannett.com or followed on Twitter: @GannettAlbany

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This article originally appeared on New York State Team: Department of Justice seeks data on New York, NJ, PA and Michigan nursing home deaths

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