New York state records show nearly half the state's 600-plus nursing homes hired real estate, management and staffing companies run or controlled by their owners, frequently paying them well above the cost of services. Meanwhile, in the pandemic's height, the federal government was giving the facilities hundreds of millions in fiscal relief. Maskot/Getty Images hide caption
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks to reporters during a news conference at a COVID-19 pop-up vaccination site in Brooklyn on Jan. 23. Cuomo has defended the state's reporting of nursing home deaths. Mary Altaffer/AP hide caption
Families of COVID-19 victims who died in New York nursing homes gather in front of the Cobble Hill Heath Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York City in October. A report issued Thursday by New York's state attorney general says health officials undercounted nursing home deaths by as much as 50%. Yuki Iwamura/AP hide caption