Lawmakers Probe If Cuomo's Policy Fueled Nursing Home Deaths

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York lawmakers challenged the state’s health commissioner Thursday on the administration’s proposed budget cuts and the continued secrecy on outbreaks at nursing homes.

The Cuomo administration for months dramatically underreported the statewide number of COVID-19 deaths among long-term care residents.

It is now over 15,000, up from about 9,000 previously disclosed as of late January.

Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said Thursday he wanted to “move forward” from questions about whether the administration’s March 25 directive in particular may have fueled some, if not all, nursing home residents deaths.

Some research suggests that community spread is the biggest risk factor for outbreaks at nursing homes.

READ ON: See the States Where People Live the Longest

Stacker used data from the 2020 County Health Rankings to rank every state's average life expectancy from lowest to highest. The 2020 County Health Rankings values were calculated using mortality counts from the 2016-2018 National Center for Health Statistics. The U.S. Census 2019 American Community Survey and America's Health Rankings Senior Report 2019 data were also used to provide demographics on the senior population of each state and the state's rank on senior health care, respectively.

Read on to learn the average life expectancy in each state.

Gallery Credit: Hannah Lang