Caroline Lewis
@clewisreports.bsky.social
Reporter covering mostly health care and cannabis for WNYC and Gothamist. Send tips to clewis@wnyc.org.
In an ongoing push to end gender affirming care for minors, the Trump administration has requested the medical records of trans youths at both NYU Langone and Mount Sinai. We talked about this with WNYC health care reporter Caroline Lewis today. wnyc.org/browse/shows...
Trump Administration Subpoenas Local Hospitals for Trans Kids' Medical Records | WNYC
Caroline Lewis shares her reporting on the Trump admin's push to end gender affirming care for minors.
wnyc.org
“ I was blindsided by this because we're not even receiving care there anymore" Mount Sinai is going to share trans kids' medical records with the Trump administration, according to parents contacted by the NYC hospital network @clewisreports.bsky.social and @giuliaheyward.bsky.social w the scoop
Gothamist@gothamist.com · 2mo agoNYC parents say Mount Sinai plans to share trans children's records with Trump administration gothamist.com/news/nyc-par...
NEW: Justices Thomas and Alito imply #SCOTUS majority is countenancing crime by keeping abortion pill mifepristone available by mail order and telehealth while legal battle unfolds. w/ @alicemiranda.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2026/05...
Supreme Court extends order maintaining abortion pill access
Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented from the majority decision.
politico.com
"Nearly a half-million New Yorkers are slated to get booted off of New York’s publicly funded Essential Plan health insurance program in July — and that’s the good news, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office." More from @clewisreports.bsky.social: gothamist.com/news/watch-t...
Watch the mail: Nearly 500K NY Essential Plan insured face coverage loss
But Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office says the toll could have been worse.
gothamist.com
When an ICE agent showed up at Elmhurst last January looking for a patient, administrators said he couldn't enter without a judicial warrant. But after a call from his supervisor, they relented... my latest for @gothamist.com / @wnyc.org gothamist.com/news/what-ha...
What happens when ICE shows up at New York City hospitals?
Health care providers and elected officials are pushing for stronger protections for immigrants.
gothamist.com
SCOOP: Parents say Mount Sinai has also ended services for trans kids. gothamist.com/news/nyc-par...
NYC parents say Mount Sinai has cut off services for trans kids ahead of federal rule
Mount Sinai would be the second major NYC health system to end services for trans youth amid threats from the Trump administration.
gothamist.com
Scoop: At the behest of @nynurses union leadership, NewYork-Presbyterian nurses are now voting on whether to approve a new contract and end their strike, even though their bargaining committee did not accept the latest offer on the table. gothamist.com/news/nurses-...
Nurses' union pressures NewYork-Presbyterian members to end monthlong strike
The move by union leaders appears to bypass the nurses' own executive committee.
gothamist.com
Hospital leaders have said they are prepared for a long nurses strike but for some NYC patients, it can’t end soon enough. My latest: gothamist.com/news/nyc-nur...
NYC nurses' strike hits home, including caregivers' own
The strike has complicated care for untold patients, including nurses and their families.
gothamist.com
An NYC nonprofit is heading off fatal overdoses. Will Mamdani allow the model to expand? gothamist.com/news/an-nyc-...
An NYC nonprofit is heading off fatal overdoses. Will Mamdani allow the model to expand?
OnPoint NYC says it has intervened in 2,000 overdoses since opening in 2022.
gothamist.com
As one of his last acts in office, Adams seeks to reinstate former city workers fired over their refusal to get a COVID shot. gothamist.com/news/nyc-wor...
NYC workers fired for refusing COVID vaccine could get their jobs back, Adams says
Mayor Adams' move could offer 2,900 ousted workers a path to reinstatement.
gothamist.com
And in absence of good data, warn scientists, misinformation can thrive. 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.
politico.com
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.
New Yorkers’ health insurance costs on the line amid battle over government shutdown gothamist.com/news/new-yor...
New Yorkers’ health insurance costs on the line amid battle over government shutdown
Consumers may face sticker shock when shopping for insurance through New York’s Affordable Care Act marketplace.
gothamist.com
New York state already legalized marijuana. Could magic mushrooms be next? https://gothamist.com/news/new-york-state-already-legalized-marijuana-could-magic-mushrooms-be-next
New York state already legalized marijuana. Could magic mushrooms be next?
Mushrooms being prepared at a psychedelic church in Colorado. The state Assembly held a hearing Tuesday on medical uses for psilocybin, which three states have legalized. [ more › ]
gothamist.com
Looking to talk to people in NYC who have an ACA plan. Working on a story about costs potentially going up with the expiration of enhanced federal tax credits. If you want to talk today, email clewis@wnyc.org.
ICYMI: NY and other states launch Northeast Public Health Collaborative as antidote to turmoil at federal health agencies gothamist.com/news/ny-join...
NY joins new regional public health collaborative as antidote to federal vaccine turmoil
The group immediately issued its guidance on COVID vaccines, preempting federal recommendations.
gothamist.com
NYC data: More ppl getting picked up for drug charges after a long decline associated with the move away from the war on drugs, and another drop early in the pandemic. Lots of new low-level charges for possession -- and even cases involving "residue." gothamist.com/news/low-lev...
Low-level drug arrests surge in the South Bronx, according to new data
Between January and the end of June, police made more than 800 drug arrests in the 40th Precinct, which includes the area known as The Hub.
gothamist.com
ICYMI, @clewisreports.bsky.social on the confusion over getting the updated COVID vaccine this fall: www.wnyc.org/story/the-la...
The Latest on COVID Shots | The Brian Lehrer Show | WNYC
Caroline Lewis talks about the availability of COVID vaccines this fall and the confusion over the guidelines after the FDA's changes to approval.
wnyc.org
In NY, chain pharmacies are now asking for prescriptions for COVID vaccines, while local pharmacies are putting off stocking the shots. Here's what's going on: gothamist.com/news/why-get...
Why getting a COVID shot in NY could be a hassle this year
Changes in how federal immunization guidelines are being rolled out have sown confusion.
gothamist.com
Mayor Adams wants NY to have compulsory drug treatment. Brian Stettin, an advisor to Adams, says involuntary treatment is better than no treatment at all. Kristine Torres-Lockhart, chief medical officer for Phoenix House NY, disagrees. My latest: gothamist.com/news/mayor-a...
Mayor Adams calls for forced treatment for drug and alcohol addiction in NY
The initiative is part of a broader campaign push by Adams to target "quality of life" issues.
gothamist.com
Why is NY seeing so many Legionnaires' cases every year? My latest story putting the current Harlem outbreak in context. gothamist.com/news/why-so-...
Why so many Legionnaires' cases in NY? Environmental and human factors may play a role.
Hundreds of new cases are reported annually in New York, despite laws meant to prevent infections.
gothamist.com
As Zeldin speaks, the heat index at the bottom of the screen is showing parts of the country hitting feels-like temperatures of 121 degrees. Extreme heat is a leading cause of death from climate change, a toll that will increase as CO2 levels rise.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last yr.Zeldin: "EPA is proposing to rescind the 2009 Obama EPA endangerment finding to eliminate all of the greenhouse gas emissions regulations that followed."
Planned Parenthood clinics in NY are still seeing Medicaid Patients -- they're just not getting paid. A spokesperson says the situation is "unsustainable" and Planned Parenthood of Greater NY needs relief in short order. gothamist.com/news/nys-pla...
NY’s Planned Parenthood clinics still seeing Medicaid patients after funding cut
But the reproductive health organization says the situation is "unsustainable."
gothamist.com
Kim Quidone went viral on TikTok for being a hilarious storyteller. Then her followers encouraged her to get sober... and she recently celebrated a year. Radio story in link. gothamist.com/news/a-bushw...
A Bushwick woman’s recovery from drug addiction starts on TikTok
Addiction specialists said finding community, even online, is crucial to success.
gothamist.com
Hitting the pavement in Harlem with one of NYC’s street psychiatrists gothamist.com/news/hitting...
Hitting the pavement in Harlem with one of NYC’s street psychiatrists
There are no quick fixes when it comes to helping people in need, outreach doctor says.
gothamist.com
SNAP theft has run rampant in NY. Now victims are suing the state to try to force an update to outdated EBT cards they say put them at risk. gothamist.com/news/victims...
Victims of food benefits theft sue NY over outdated tech they say puts them at risk
The residents allege the state isn’t doing enough to protect benefits to which they’re entitled under federal law.
gothamist.com
I met a neighbor of King Wong, the 60-yr-old police killed in Astoria this week. She said his parents took care of him til they died a few years ago. After that, he often looked for food in the trash, and entered her apt uninvited, but was “harmless.” gothamist.com/news/man-fat...
Man fatally shot by NYPD in Astoria had history of unusual behavior, neighbor says
Police said he moved toward officers with a knife after refusing to drop it.
gothamist.com
Everyone's always talking about how to treat NYers with serious mental illnesses. OnTrackNY catches young ppl right after symptoms start and offers team-based care. One OnTrack program in LI is now closing bc federal funding is up in the air. gothamist.com/news/li-prog...
LI program for young adults with mental illness closes due to funds in limbo
Providers are making "critical decisions" about programs amid the uncertainty over proposed federal funding cuts, official said.
gothamist.com
After months of striking, some therapists with Kaiser Permanente stopped eating for five days to bring attention to their union's demands for parity with how the company's other workers are treated.
Mental health workers go on hunger strike, demanding better pay and benefits
After months of striking, some therapists with Kaiser Permanente stopped eating for five days to bring attention to their union's demands for parity with how the company's other workers are treated.
npr.org
