Maya Kaufman
@mayakaufman.bsky.social
Covering politics, policy and power in health care for POLITICO New York Tips: mkaufman@politico.com or mayakaufman.11 on Signal
New York's aid-in-dying law goes into effect today, allowing terminally ill New Yorkers with no more than 6 months to live to request life-ending medication. www.politico.com/news/2026/08... @politico.com
New York legalizes medical aid in dying after decade-long battle
The law goes into effect Wednesday, allowing terminally ill New Yorkers to request life-ending medication.
politico.com
The report concludes that expanding voluntary services — and providing more information about them — “could produce similar outcomes without the attendant harms” of court-ordered treatment.
Politico@politico.com · 2d agoNew study torpedoes mental health treatment mandate
New study torpedoes mental health treatment mandate
New study torpedoes mental health treatment mandate
The first-of-its-kind evaluation of Kendra’s Law was commissioned at the direction of the state Legislature.
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“.. As states brace for as many as 10 million Americans to lose their health insurance under .. Trump’s 2025 tax-and-spending law, New York offers a preview of the upheaval expected to ripple through the U.S. next year ..” @politico.com www.politico.com/news/2026/07...
As states brace for as many as 10 million Americans to lose health insurance under #HR1, New York offers a preview of the upheaval expected to ripple through the U.S. next year when the biggest changes go into effect. www.politico.com/news/2026/07...
Massive health insurance upheaval leaves New Yorkers with big new bills
Policy changes forced 450,000 people off the low-cost Essential Plan on July 1.
politico.com
‘People shouldn’t see how the sausage is made’: Inside New York’s troubled Medicaid home care transition
‘People shouldn’t see how the sausage is made’: Inside New York’s troubled Medicaid home care transition
A DOJ lawsuit pulls back the curtain on the rocky consolidation of the consumer-directed personal assistance program.
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We combed through DOJ's lawsuit yesterday over the consolidation of a popular Medicaid home care program in New York. It paints the picture of a transition so troubled that workers inside + outside of state govt repeatedly sounded the alarm — seemingly to no avail. www.politico.com/news/2026/06...
‘People shouldn’t see how the sausage is made’: Inside New York’s troubled Medicaid home care transition
A DOJ lawsuit pulls back the curtain on the rocky consolidation of the consumer-directed personal assistance program.
politico.com
Teamed up with the great @meganmesserly.bsky.social to bring you the untold story of how Trump's first term health officials convinced him to back an ambitious plan to end the HIV epidemic by 2030...and how the policies he embraced in his second term destroyed the hopes of meeting that goal.
Trump Started a Plan to Eradicate HIV. He Never Finished It.
The president’s first-term pledge to end HIV in the U.S. by 2030 has evaporated in his second term.
politico.com
Absolute banger of an investigation by @mayakaufman.bsky.social and her co-reporters here!
Maya Kaufman@mayakaufman.bsky.social · 2mo agoINVESTIGATION: 🚨 A Polymarket exec used a personal PayPal account to pay major political influencers like Riley Gaines and Brian Krassenstein, who then hyped how "accurate" Polymarket is at predicting outcomes. We uncovered $350,000+ flowing to influencers this way www.politico.com/news/2026/06...
my latest @consumerreports.org investigation is based on months of reporting and 120+ lab tests of popular snacks over a third of the products had more additives / contaminants in 1 serving than what health agencies have identified as safe to consume daily 🧵 www.consumerreports.org/health/food-...
These Popular Snacks Contain High Levels of Additives and Contaminants - Consumer Reports
Tests by Consumer Reports and Yuka found high levels of additives and contaminants in popular products from Cheetos, Hostess, Jell-O, Kool-Aid, Takis, and more.
consumerreports.org
INVESTIGATION: 🚨 A Polymarket exec used a personal PayPal account to pay major political influencers like Riley Gaines and Brian Krassenstein, who then hyped how "accurate" Polymarket is at predicting outcomes. We uncovered $350,000+ flowing to influencers this way www.politico.com/news/2026/06...
‘Unbelievable how accurate’: How paid influencers hype Polymarket’s odds
The company’s chief marketing officer, Matthew Modabber, used a personal PayPal account to send money to content creators, according to records reviewed by POLITICO.
politico.com
Modabber used his personal PayPal account, which is registered to an email for a salad spot he co-founded, to send over $2.5 million to more than 800 people during the 14-month span. www.politico.com/news/2026/06...
‘Unbelievable how accurate’: How paid influencers hype Polymarket’s odds
The company’s chief marketing officer, Matthew Modabber, used a personal PayPal account to send money to content creators, according to records reviewed by POLITICO.
politico.com
They make money whether you win or lose. They get paid to hype products whether you benefit or not. The FTC has rules but doesn’t enforce. “We are the media now” but ethics are secondary. I spoke to Politico for this story ab undisclosed influencer partnerships. www.politico.com/news/2026/06...
‘Unbelievable how accurate’: How paid influencers hype Polymarket’s odds
The company’s chief marketing officer, Matthew Modabber, used a personal PayPal account to send money to content creators, according to records reviewed by POLITICO.
politico.com
EXCLUSIVE: A top Polymarket executive sent hundreds of thousands of dollars — and likely more — to social media influencers from left to right. One influencer says Polymarket wrote posts for them to share on X and asked them to promote specific bets.
‘Unbelievable how accurate’: How paid influencers hype Polymarket’s odds
The company’s chief marketing officer, Matthew Modabber, used a personal PayPal account to send money to content creators, according to records reviewed by POLITICO.
politico.com
Polymarket is paying some of social media’s biggest political influencers
Polymarket is paying some of social media’s biggest political influencers
The company’s chief marketing officer, Matthew Modabber, used a personal PayPal account to send money to content creators, according to records reviewed by POLITICO.
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NEWS: New York is doling out $1.5 billion+ in new funding to the politically influential health care industry, while offering no direct assistance to ~1.5 million people expected to lose low-cost insurance coverage due to H.R.1. It's all in the very late budget deal nearing completion this week.
Former @1199seiu.org President George Gresham died this morning after a long illness. The union, which represents about 450,000 health care workers, has long been a titan in New York state politics thanks to a close partnership with @gnyha.org. .
This was a hard story to report. Newborns who don’t get a vitamin K shot are 81 times more likely to develop a condition where they bleed uncontrollably. But more and more families are declining the shot. And babies are dying. www.propublica.org/article/more...
Babies Are Bleeding to Death as Parents Reject a Vitamin Shot Given at Birth
A lifesaving injection given at birth to prevent severe bleeding has become collateral damage of the anti-vaccine movement.
propublica.org
A man died by suicide after he was abruptly moved out of a Manhattan shelter as part of Mayor Zohran Mamdani's plan to turn it into an intake center for homeless people requesting beds, I report for @politico.com today. www.politico.com/news/2026/04...
Rush to close major Manhattan shelter leaves a death in its wake
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s decision to move the primary shelter intake facility for men forced the city to quickly relocate hundreds of homeless people.
politico.com
I teamed up w/ @c-sommerfeldt.bsky.social to uncover how the former mayor stashed allies in obscure govt roles. A director of Adams' mysterious innovation office briefly got a DOT gig. An ex-aide tied to a domestic violence cover-up scandal is at Criminal Justice. www.politico.com/news/2026/04...
Mamdani administration has continued to quietly purge Eric Adams’ allies from NYC government
Despite the bloodletting, at least one prominent ally of Adams remains in the municipal bureaucracy, causing a potential headache for Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
politico.com
Mamdani administration has continued to quietly purge Eric Adams’ allies from NYC government
Mamdani administration has continued to quietly purge Eric Adams’ allies from NYC government
Despite the bloodletting, at least one prominent ally of Adams remains in the municipal bureaucracy, causing a potential headache for Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
dlvr.it
Mamdani's team has found and fired some of them, including Denise Felipe-Adams & Lisa Lashley. But at least one prominent Adams ally, David Johnson, remains in government thanks to the 11th hour staff transfers. Breaking it all down w/ @mayakaufman.bsky.social: www.politico.com/news/2026/04...
Mamdani administration has continued to quietly purge Eric Adams’ allies from NYC government
Despite the bloodletting, at least one prominent ally of Adams remains in the municipal bureaucracy, causing a potential headache for Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
politico.com
New: Several loyal aides to ex-Mayor Eric Adams were shifted into high-paying jobs in obscure corners of NYC's government at the very tail end of his term in an apparent effort to hide them from the Mamdani administration's staff purges. www.politico.com/news/2026/04...
Mamdani administration has continued to quietly purge Eric Adams’ allies from NYC government
Despite the bloodletting, at least one prominent ally of Adams remains in the municipal bureaucracy, causing a potential headache for Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
politico.com
The dark money group fighting NYC’s new health insurance plan
The dark money group fighting NYC’s new health insurance plan
Hands Off NY Care has raked in at least $1.4 million in contributions as it sues the city over the new insurance plan.
dlvr.it
NEWS: An advocacy group suing New York City over a new health insurance plan is backed by at least $1.4 million in dark money from two pass-through organizations with no phone number and the same Virginia address. www.politico.com/news/2026/04...
NEW: Employees at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s office at 125 Worth St. in Manhattan say their workplace is plagued with mice and cockroaches — not to mention, the waste they leave behind... www.politico.com/newsletters/...
The fallout from the Epstein files has created a mini hiring boom for elite lawyers. @politico.com www.politico.com/news/2026/03...
The Epstein files’ cottage industry
People and institutions named in the files have rushed to lock down top-tier lawyers.
politico.com
Former Mayor Eric Adams moved B-HEARD fully under the purview of NYC Health + Hospitals several weeks before leaving office: subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025... Mamdani's executive order explicitly rejects that change, keeping B-HEARD as a joint effort with FDNY EMS.
POLITICO Pro: Adams, in his lame duck era, unveils new model for New York City mental health crisis response
The FDNY's EMS division would no longer play a role in the B-HEARD program under a redesign advanced by Mayor Eric Adams' administration.
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Chris Sommerfeldt@c-sommerfeldt.bsky.social · 5mo agoThe Office of Community Safety that Mayor Mamdani will create via executive order today is, at least for now, just placing existing homeless outreach and crime prevention programs, like B-HEARD and OPHC, under the new Office's umbrella, per org chart shared by City Hall.
When influencer Peter Attia was hiring for a head of patient experience in 2017, he prioritized one specific qualification: “Be. Fucking. Awesome.” He found an unlikely candidate through Jeffrey Epstein — a foreign-born model he met at Epstein's mansion. Via @politico.com:
Emails suggest wellness influencer Peter Attia had a deeper relationship with Epstein than previously reported. Their interactions all unfolded years after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for child prostitution, requiring him to register as a sex offender.
‘I think she will be loyal’: Jeffrey Epstein’s role in Peter Attia’s rise
Attia, a wellness influencer, turned to the convicted sex offender when searching for employees and patients in New York City.
politico.com