With Andrew Cuomo mulling a run for mayor of New York City next year, a possible opponent in the Democratic primary has called on U.S. health officials to investigate whether the former governor's order requiring nursing homes to accept COVID-19 patients violated federal policy and guidance.

City Comptroller Brad Lander questioned whether Cuomo's March 25, 2020, directive requiring nursing homes to accept COVID-19 patients discharged from hospitals aligned with federal guidelines issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the New York Post reported Monday.

Lander, a progressive Democrat from Brooklyn, has declared he will run against Mayor Eric Adams in next year's Democratic primary. Cuomo reportedly has held early talks with potential donors about setting up a big-money group that could boost a possible run for mayor.

In a letter dated Dec. 17 to CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure and CDC Director Mandy Cohen, Lander noted a report by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic found the directive was "inconsistent with the applicable federal guidelines," the Post reported. The letter also noted Cuomo told the select subcommittee he did not speak to anyone at CMS or CDC before or after the directive was issued.

"Given the critical nature of this issue and its implications for public health policy and accountability, I respectfully request an explanation of how the March 25 directive aligned — or failed to align — with the referenced federal guidelines," he wrote, according to the Post.

The select subcommittee's report, released Dec. 2, also accused Cuomo of committing "medical malpractice" and undercounting COVID-related nursing home deaths in New York during the pandemic. It also concluded that Cuomo "likely gave false statements" during his testimony. Cuomo's camp dismissed the report as partisan politics, according to the Post.

Cuomo's administration was accused of underreporting nursing home deaths, but a tracker of such deaths in the state acknowledged in 2023 that 17,425 long-term care residents died during the pandemic. Cuomo resigned in disgrace in 2021 in the wake of sexual assault allegations that he has denied, and potential impeachment proceedings.

A Cuomo source told the Post that New York Attorney General Letitia James and an outside investigator hired by Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul found the nursing home order was consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines, the Post reported. The Department of Justice and Manhattan district attorney also found no violations or wrongdoing, the source said.

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