Maya Kaufman
@mayakaufman.bsky.social
Covering politics, policy and power in health care for POLITICO New York
Tips: [email protected] or mayakaufman.11 on Signal
Tips: [email protected] or mayakaufman.11 on Signal
Pinned
Maya Kaufman
@mayakaufman.bsky.social
· Apr 21
‘An unlimited piggy bank:’ Inside a powerful union’s lavish spending
Labor leader George Gresham has for years used union money to benefit himself, his family and political allies.
www.politico.com
ICYMI: Labor leader George Gresham has for years used 1199SEIU funds to benefit himself, his family and political allies, a nine-month @politico.com investigation found.
In some cases, Gresham bypassed officers tasked with signing off on major expenses.
www.politico.com/news/2025/04...
In some cases, Gresham bypassed officers tasked with signing off on major expenses.
www.politico.com/news/2025/04...
Reposted by Maya Kaufman
NEW with @ruthreader.bsky.social: Nearly as many migrants have died in custody so far this year than over the 4 yrs of the Biden admin. ICE is hiring dozens more medical workers, but former insiders are skeptical the deaths will stop w/o more fundamental reforms. www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
ICE is hiring dozens of health workers as lawsuits, deaths in custody mount
Nearly as many migrants have died in detention so far this year than over the four years of the Biden administration.
www.politico.com
October 20, 2025 at 2:04 PM
NEW with @ruthreader.bsky.social: Nearly as many migrants have died in custody so far this year than over the 4 yrs of the Biden admin. ICE is hiring dozens more medical workers, but former insiders are skeptical the deaths will stop w/o more fundamental reforms. www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
Reposted by Maya Kaufman
Gov. Hochul vetoed a @jamesskoufis.bsky.social @johnmcdonald108.bsky.social bill to require insurers to reimburse pharmacists for patient consultations on birth control, saying it would burden insurers with "significant" new costs and raise premiums.
But NY's insurance lobby hadn't taken a stance.
But NY's insurance lobby hadn't taken a stance.
October 17, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Gov. Hochul vetoed a @jamesskoufis.bsky.social @johnmcdonald108.bsky.social bill to require insurers to reimburse pharmacists for patient consultations on birth control, saying it would burden insurers with "significant" new costs and raise premiums.
But NY's insurance lobby hadn't taken a stance.
But NY's insurance lobby hadn't taken a stance.
Gov. Hochul vetoed a @jamesskoufis.bsky.social @johnmcdonald108.bsky.social bill to require insurers to reimburse pharmacists for patient consultations on birth control, saying it would burden insurers with "significant" new costs and raise premiums.
But NY's insurance lobby hadn't taken a stance.
But NY's insurance lobby hadn't taken a stance.
October 17, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Gov. Hochul vetoed a @jamesskoufis.bsky.social @johnmcdonald108.bsky.social bill to require insurers to reimburse pharmacists for patient consultations on birth control, saying it would burden insurers with "significant" new costs and raise premiums.
But NY's insurance lobby hadn't taken a stance.
But NY's insurance lobby hadn't taken a stance.
My colleagues in POLITICO's New York bureau worked hard to put together this important piece of accountability reporting — please make some time to read it.
October 14, 2025 at 5:32 PM
My colleagues in POLITICO's New York bureau worked hard to put together this important piece of accountability reporting — please make some time to read it.
Reposted by Maya Kaufman
The Trump admin wouldn't tell us who's being deployed to Indian Health Service facilities.
But we discovered top leaders at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration were sent on the 120-day stints — potentially disrupting programs targeting the opioid epidemic.
But we discovered top leaders at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration were sent on the 120-day stints — potentially disrupting programs targeting the opioid epidemic.
NEW: RFK transferred 70 public health officers to work for four months at far-flung Indian Health Service sites. Though the help is desperately needed, the deployment threatens to disrupt vital disease tracking and harm reduction work. www.politico.com/news/2025/10... w/ @mayakaufman.bsky.social
‘Straining everything in our system’: Indian Health Service transfers leave leadership vacuum
The four-month deployments are unusually long and target a chronic issue rather than an isolated emergency.
www.politico.com
October 8, 2025 at 3:08 PM
The Trump admin wouldn't tell us who's being deployed to Indian Health Service facilities.
But we discovered top leaders at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration were sent on the 120-day stints — potentially disrupting programs targeting the opioid epidemic.
But we discovered top leaders at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration were sent on the 120-day stints — potentially disrupting programs targeting the opioid epidemic.
Reposted by Maya Kaufman
The Trump admin's recent warnings against pregnant women taking Tylenol, Covid shots and antidepressants clash with the mainstream medical consensus. But they also highlight a dangerous data vacuum -- one that's gotten worse since the fall of Roe v. Wade.
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
RFK Jr.’s got advice for pregnant women. There’s limited data to support it.
Women of reproductive age have long been missing from clinical trials. It’s getting worse where abortion is banned.
www.politico.com
October 12, 2025 at 12:47 PM
The Trump admin's recent warnings against pregnant women taking Tylenol, Covid shots and antidepressants clash with the mainstream medical consensus. But they also highlight a dangerous data vacuum -- one that's gotten worse since the fall of Roe v. Wade.
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
Reposted by Maya Kaufman
Interesting catch here: ACIP did not specifically vote on whether the shot should be administered during pregnancy, yet the vote appears to encompass pregnant women, according to an update this month on the CDC website that reflects the new guidance.
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
CDC, its advisers quietly expand access to Covid-19 shot for pregnant women
The panel voted to undo an action by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. which removed the vaccine from the immunization schedule for pregnant women.
www.politico.com
October 9, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Interesting catch here: ACIP did not specifically vote on whether the shot should be administered during pregnancy, yet the vote appears to encompass pregnant women, according to an update this month on the CDC website that reflects the new guidance.
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
The Trump admin wouldn't tell us who's being deployed to Indian Health Service facilities.
But we discovered top leaders at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration were sent on the 120-day stints — potentially disrupting programs targeting the opioid epidemic.
But we discovered top leaders at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration were sent on the 120-day stints — potentially disrupting programs targeting the opioid epidemic.
NEW: RFK transferred 70 public health officers to work for four months at far-flung Indian Health Service sites. Though the help is desperately needed, the deployment threatens to disrupt vital disease tracking and harm reduction work. www.politico.com/news/2025/10... w/ @mayakaufman.bsky.social
‘Straining everything in our system’: Indian Health Service transfers leave leadership vacuum
The four-month deployments are unusually long and target a chronic issue rather than an isolated emergency.
www.politico.com
October 8, 2025 at 3:08 PM
The Trump admin wouldn't tell us who's being deployed to Indian Health Service facilities.
But we discovered top leaders at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration were sent on the 120-day stints — potentially disrupting programs targeting the opioid epidemic.
But we discovered top leaders at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration were sent on the 120-day stints — potentially disrupting programs targeting the opioid epidemic.
Reposted by Maya Kaufman
NEW: RFK transferred 70 public health officers to work for four months at far-flung Indian Health Service sites. Though the help is desperately needed, the deployment threatens to disrupt vital disease tracking and harm reduction work. www.politico.com/news/2025/10... w/ @mayakaufman.bsky.social
‘Straining everything in our system’: Indian Health Service transfers leave leadership vacuum
The four-month deployments are unusually long and target a chronic issue rather than an isolated emergency.
www.politico.com
October 8, 2025 at 1:36 PM
NEW: RFK transferred 70 public health officers to work for four months at far-flung Indian Health Service sites. Though the help is desperately needed, the deployment threatens to disrupt vital disease tracking and harm reduction work. www.politico.com/news/2025/10... w/ @mayakaufman.bsky.social
Reposted by Maya Kaufman
NEWS: The federal govt is sending NYC’s top disease control official to Arizona for a months-long stint at an Indian Health Service facility.
That could complicate local infectious disease response efforts.
“If we have an outbreak, then we’re fucked,” a city health department staffer told me.
That could complicate local infectious disease response efforts.
“If we have an outbreak, then we’re fucked,” a city health department staffer told me.
October 1, 2025 at 8:23 PM
NEWS: The federal govt is sending NYC’s top disease control official to Arizona for a months-long stint at an Indian Health Service facility.
That could complicate local infectious disease response efforts.
“If we have an outbreak, then we’re fucked,” a city health department staffer told me.
That could complicate local infectious disease response efforts.
“If we have an outbreak, then we’re fucked,” a city health department staffer told me.
Help us continue this reporting! We're looking for more information on who else is being deployed to IHS.
Tips are confidential. @altcdc.altgov.info
Tips are confidential. @altcdc.altgov.info
NEWS: The federal govt is sending NYC’s top disease control official to Arizona for a months-long stint at an Indian Health Service facility.
That could complicate local infectious disease response efforts.
“If we have an outbreak, then we’re fucked,” a city health department staffer told me.
That could complicate local infectious disease response efforts.
“If we have an outbreak, then we’re fucked,” a city health department staffer told me.
October 3, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Help us continue this reporting! We're looking for more information on who else is being deployed to IHS.
Tips are confidential. @altcdc.altgov.info
Tips are confidential. @altcdc.altgov.info
Reposted by Maya Kaufman
"The federal government is sending New York City’s [federal point person] head of disease control to Arizona for a sudden 120-day assignment with the Indian Health Service, scrambling the Department of Health’s support system for outbreak response." -- subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025...
POLITICO Pro: NYC’s top disease control officer abruptly deployed to Arizona
Dr. Celia Quinn is among dozens of Public Health Service officers being dispatched by HHS for stints at “priority” tribal health care facilities.
subscriber.politicopro.com
October 1, 2025 at 9:22 PM
"The federal government is sending New York City’s [federal point person] head of disease control to Arizona for a sudden 120-day assignment with the Indian Health Service, scrambling the Department of Health’s support system for outbreak response." -- subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025...
NEWS: The federal govt is sending NYC’s top disease control official to Arizona for a months-long stint at an Indian Health Service facility.
That could complicate local infectious disease response efforts.
“If we have an outbreak, then we’re fucked,” a city health department staffer told me.
That could complicate local infectious disease response efforts.
“If we have an outbreak, then we’re fucked,” a city health department staffer told me.
October 1, 2025 at 8:23 PM
NEWS: The federal govt is sending NYC’s top disease control official to Arizona for a months-long stint at an Indian Health Service facility.
That could complicate local infectious disease response efforts.
“If we have an outbreak, then we’re fucked,” a city health department staffer told me.
That could complicate local infectious disease response efforts.
“If we have an outbreak, then we’re fucked,” a city health department staffer told me.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul got the latest COVID vaccine at an independent pharmacy in Hell’s Kitchen in Manhattan, highlighting her recent executive order authorizing pharmacists to administer it.
September 16, 2025 at 4:53 PM
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul got the latest COVID vaccine at an independent pharmacy in Hell’s Kitchen in Manhattan, highlighting her recent executive order authorizing pharmacists to administer it.
New from me: The NY Attorney General’s Office is investigating politically influential law firm Abrams Fensterman over its debt collection practices for nursing homes.
(The firm says there is “no fraud or illegality to investigate.”)
www.politico.com/news/2025/09...
(The firm says there is “no fraud or illegality to investigate.”)
www.politico.com/news/2025/09...
Politically influential law firm under investigation by New York AG
The probe is scrutinizing the firm’s handling of debt collection lawsuits on behalf of its nursing home clients, according to court records.
www.politico.com
September 16, 2025 at 1:45 PM
New from me: The NY Attorney General’s Office is investigating politically influential law firm Abrams Fensterman over its debt collection practices for nursing homes.
(The firm says there is “no fraud or illegality to investigate.”)
www.politico.com/news/2025/09...
(The firm says there is “no fraud or illegality to investigate.”)
www.politico.com/news/2025/09...
BREAKING, from NY Playbook PM: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul will sign an executive order allowing pharmacists to prescribe and administer Covid vaccines to New Yorkers who request them.
September 4, 2025 at 9:27 PM
BREAKING, from NY Playbook PM: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul will sign an executive order allowing pharmacists to prescribe and administer Covid vaccines to New Yorkers who request them.
States are increasingly forging their own paths on public health, especially on vaccines.
My colleague Katelyn and I keep asking NY's Health Department about their plans. (e.g., Will they ease access to the latest Covid shot?)
We can't get a concrete answer, let alone an interview.
My colleague Katelyn and I keep asking NY's Health Department about their plans. (e.g., Will they ease access to the latest Covid shot?)
We can't get a concrete answer, let alone an interview.
September 3, 2025 at 5:12 PM
States are increasingly forging their own paths on public health, especially on vaccines.
My colleague Katelyn and I keep asking NY's Health Department about their plans. (e.g., Will they ease access to the latest Covid shot?)
We can't get a concrete answer, let alone an interview.
My colleague Katelyn and I keep asking NY's Health Department about their plans. (e.g., Will they ease access to the latest Covid shot?)
We can't get a concrete answer, let alone an interview.
Reposted by Maya Kaufman
The Trump administration has refused to say how many workers have been lost. My @propublica.org colleagues did the analysis & here, in unprecedented detail, is what they found:
In total, 20,500+ workers — 18% of the Department of Health and Human Services’ workforce — have left or been pushed out.
In total, 20,500+ workers — 18% of the Department of Health and Human Services’ workforce — have left or been pushed out.
Gutted: How Deeply Trump Has Cut Federal Health Agencies
More than 20,500 workers have left or been pushed out of federal health agencies, a ProPublica analysis found. Staffers say the cuts will leave their agencies less equipped to conduct studies, perform...
projects.propublica.org
August 21, 2025 at 12:11 PM
The Trump administration has refused to say how many workers have been lost. My @propublica.org colleagues did the analysis & here, in unprecedented detail, is what they found:
In total, 20,500+ workers — 18% of the Department of Health and Human Services’ workforce — have left or been pushed out.
In total, 20,500+ workers — 18% of the Department of Health and Human Services’ workforce — have left or been pushed out.
Big scoop by my colleague @jccoltin.bsky.social and a good reminder to sign up to get New York Playbook in your inbox — it’s free!
www.politico.com/newsletters/...
www.politico.com/newsletters/...
August 19, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Big scoop by my colleague @jccoltin.bsky.social and a good reminder to sign up to get New York Playbook in your inbox — it’s free!
www.politico.com/newsletters/...
www.politico.com/newsletters/...
NEWS: @1199seiu.org voted today to endorse @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social for mayor.
July 18, 2025 at 3:31 PM
NEWS: @1199seiu.org voted today to endorse @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social for mayor.
Per a new Health Affairs analysis, 20 New York hospitals lost obstetric services between 2010 and 2022, leaving 39.8% of hospitals statewide without obstetrics.
July 11, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Per a new Health Affairs analysis, 20 New York hospitals lost obstetric services between 2010 and 2022, leaving 39.8% of hospitals statewide without obstetrics.
Reposted by Maya Kaufman
TODAY: PEN Guild heads to arbitration over POLITICO’s contract-breaking use of AI. This fight could set the standard for how AI is used in newsrooms across the country.
✍️ Sign our petition and help us go into arbitration with full support: bit.ly/PENGuild
✍️ Sign our petition and help us go into arbitration with full support: bit.ly/PENGuild
July 11, 2025 at 1:02 PM
TODAY: PEN Guild heads to arbitration over POLITICO’s contract-breaking use of AI. This fight could set the standard for how AI is used in newsrooms across the country.
✍️ Sign our petition and help us go into arbitration with full support: bit.ly/PENGuild
✍️ Sign our petition and help us go into arbitration with full support: bit.ly/PENGuild
Reposted by Maya Kaufman
BREAKING: Six leading medical organizations filed a lawsuit on Monday against Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, and the health dept, charging that recent decisions limiting access to vaccines were unscientific and harmful to the public.
(Gift link)
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/h...
(Gift link)
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/h...
Medical Societies Sue Kennedy and H.H.S. Over Vaccine Advice
www.nytimes.com
July 7, 2025 at 4:30 PM
BREAKING: Six leading medical organizations filed a lawsuit on Monday against Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, and the health dept, charging that recent decisions limiting access to vaccines were unscientific and harmful to the public.
(Gift link)
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/h...
(Gift link)
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/h...
July 7, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Reposted by Maya Kaufman
We’re taking @politico.com to arbitration this week for its unethical use of AI and we’re asking for your support! bit.ly/PENGuild
July 7, 2025 at 2:09 PM
We’re taking @politico.com to arbitration this week for its unethical use of AI and we’re asking for your support! bit.ly/PENGuild