Then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo directed New York state to spend $452 million on medical equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic. But only three of the nearly 250,000 items bought to fortify the statewide pandemic response were handed out, according to a report released on Friday by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
The vast majority of purchased equipment, which included ventilators, was never distributed. Today, the items are gathering dust in storage facilities across the state.
DiNapoli's report provides a critical look at one aspect of Cuomo’s handling of the pandemic. The former governor was initially lauded for his handling of the public health crisis, even earning an Emmy Award for his daily televised COVID briefings that sought to reassure the public.
But Cuomo, who is currently running for mayor of New York City, faced criticism over the deaths of thousands of elderly patients in nursing homes across the state, which fueled the backlash that led to his resignation amid sexual harassment accusations in 2021.
The state acquired much-needed medical equipment that was in short supply across the world, including pulse oximeters, oxygen tanks, infusion pumps, oxygen concentrators, airway pressure machines, ventilators and X-ray machines. DiNapoli's office said that of the purchases it reviewed, an X-ray machine and two ventilators were the only items distributed.
State officials could not account for more than $300,000 worth of credit card transactions to purchase the items, according to DiNapoli's report.
The lack of accountability, DiNapoli wrote, highlighted the state's failure to fulfill “responsible management and planning and use of public resources for the protection of the state and taxpayers’ interests.”
Rich Azzopardi, a spokesperson for Cuomo and a former senior adviser to Cuomo’s administration, said the state bought the items to make sure hospitals would have proper equipment, if needed.
“Yes, we were going to spend a lot of money on medical equipment, but that was OK if we save lives because of it,” Azzopardi said. He added that hospitals in the state didn’t end up needing all of the equipment that was purchased with the guidance of consulting firm McKinsey & Co.
“It’s good news that we didn’t have to distribute all these ventilators,” Azzopardi said. “That means the hospital systems didn’t need them because people weren’t getting infected at the numbers that every projection said, because New Yorkers work together and they listened.”
Azzopardi contested the idea that the state only distributed three items from the medical equipment that was purchased during the pandemic.
“Our recollection was that far more equipment went out the door,” Azzopardi said.
The state suspended normal purchasing protocol in March 2020 to expedite its response to the start of the public health emergency. In doing so, the Department of Health was left out of talks for buying supplies during the onset of the pandemic, while health officials said Cuomo’s office “dictated” what items to buy.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the state Department of Health said that "the Comptroller’s audit identified documentation discrepancies for procurements that were made outside of the department’s purview during the COVID-19 health emergency," and that the state health department reviews and maintains information about its own equipment.
The state hired McKinsey in early March for $5.1 million to project how much equipment New York would need. An additional contract between New York state and the company totaled $10.1 million, lasting from July 2020 to April 2021. McKinsey gave state officials a list of items to purchase, including ventilators and x-ray machines, and how much of each item.
DiNapoli recommended that the Department of Health make a plan outlining how it will manage the surplus items, and that the Office of General Services set guardrails for how the state should obtain emergency items in the future.
