Hospitals and Nursing Homes Spent $98 Million on State Politics. Now They Want Immunity for Patient Deaths.
As nursing-home deaths spike during the COVID-19 crisis, hospital and nursing-home companies are pushing for state laws all over America that would shield their executives and owners from responsibility — and trying to convince lawmakers by spending serious cash.
The special coronavirus area at Maimonides Medical Center in the Borough Park neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City on May 26, 2020. Spencer Platt / Getty
Yesterday, Jacobin published a major investigative report showing how New York governor Andrew Cuomo granted liability immunity to hospital and nursing-home executives after his political machine received huge donations from the industries seeking those protections. But it’s not just a New York thing.
As nursing-home deaths spike during the COVID-19 crisis, hospital and nursing-home companies are pushing for state laws all over the United States that would shield their corporate executives, board members, and owners from civil litigation and government prosecution.
A review of campaign finance data suggest that these industries are well positioned to influence state politicians in their lobbying: hospitals and nursing homes have collectively pumped more than $98 million into state politics in the last election cycle and the current one, according to data from the National Institute on Money in Politics.
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