American Crisis: on Health Care
Andrew Cuomo:
COVID: First governor to issue a mask mandate
I was concerned it could cause public backlash when I mandated that all New Yorkers wear masks. I was the first governor in the nation to do it, and I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of compliance. This was a significant action and I risked losing
public support. I was aware that if I ever issued an executive order that was dismissed, we would run the risk of losing control of the situation. However, once again, I felt that the people were with me.
Reopening the economy in it of itself would be complicated and contingent on the publics compliance. If reopened to quickly you could risk the risk of viral transmission,
which makes more people too sick to work and could set back the economy. If you reopen too slowly, you will have an anxious public violating government orders , increasing the viral spread and slowing the economy as well.
Source: American Crisis, by Andrew Cuomo, p.246-247
Oct 13, 2020
Andrew Cuomo:
NY never "demanded" nursing homes take COVID patients
New York State never demanded that any nursing home accept a COVID-positive patient. The Federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services guidance was that a nursing home should continue to accept patients from hospitals where
COVID-19 was present , and not discriminate against a COVID-positive person. The state followed the guidance , stating that nursing homes should not reject a person "solely on the bias" of COVID 19 status.
It also applied to hospitals. We couldn't have a situation in which elderly patients who had been treated in hospitals ended up on the street because their nursing homes refused to take them back.
Nor could we have a situation in which hospitals refused to take a COVID 19 person.
Source: American Crisis, by Andrew Cuomo, p.302-303
Oct 13, 2020
Donald Trump:
OpEd: Trump believed COVID was just public relations matter
Given the consistent irrationality of the Trump administration, why would anyone think this federal government would act responsibly or competently? I had deep philosophical differences with Trump before COVID began.
I believed he was a salesman who adopted hyper-conservative positions to win as a Republican. I knew Trump from earlier days in New York and was aware of his lifestyle. He was anything but hyper-conservative.
Trump had no government experience when he took office, and he was rarely involved in substantive policy once he did.
Most qualified officials in the Trump administration came and left before their dinner got cold. Trump, from all evidence, believed the pandemic was just another public relations matter.
Source: American Crisis, by Andrew Cuomo, p.8-9
Oct 13, 2020
Mark Meadows:
Provide hydroxychloroquine drug test or no hospital funding
Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, called me. It was highly unusual for him to call me. When we did meet, he had a general air of negativity around him.
When I picked up the phone, Meadows said that they wanted the results from the tests on hydroxychloroquine. I told him, as I told the president, that the tests were being done by the hospitals and when they were complete they would be sent to the FDA.
I didn't know how long they took, but no one had any interest in causing any undue delay. Meadows then communicated to me that the
federal government was about to send out funding for hospitals and strongly implied that if the tests weren't complete , New York wouldn't receive any funding.
Source: American Crisis, by Andrew Cuomo, p.194-195
Oct 13, 2020
Ron DeSantis:
New Yorkers were bringing COVID to Florida
In late March, the number of cases in New York was spiking but remained low in most of the country. Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida complained that New Yorkers were bringing the virus to Florida. Florida is a key electoral state for President Trump, and
DeSantis is very much a Trump supporter. In fact, to secure a political advantage, Trump had just changed his residency from New York to Florida. After DeSantis's statements , the president's aids started to talk about limiting
New Yorkers' ability to travel. At first, we didn't take them seriously, but within a Trump White House you have to be constantly on guard because they were capable of anything. There was also a White House driven theme emerging that COVID was a
Democratic state problem, not a Republican state problem. DeSantis's remark was another manifestation of this theme, and it was conceivable that targeting New York would be advancing his political narrative.
Source: American Crisis, by Andrew Cuomo, p.186-187
Oct 13, 2020
Ron DeSantis:
OpEd: FL did nothing to mitigate COVID in nursing homes
COVID patients are being transferred from hospitals into Florida nursing homes with the express blessing of the DeSantis administration. Florida was having the problem we prepared for but avoided.
Their hospitals were over capacity and had no choice but to send seniors back to nursing homes. They did not reduce the viral transmission rate the way New York State did, nor did they build the additional beds we did.
For New York, it was the worst case scenario plan that never materialized. For Florida, it was reality. Unsurprisingly, neither Donald Trump nor
Fox News maligns Republican governor DeSantis for actually doing what they incorrectly accused New York of doing.
Source: American Crisis, by Andrew Cuomo, p.309
Oct 13, 2020
Page last updated: Dec 30, 2021