Dear New York Focus readers,
Welcome to May! Updates: We’re still waiting for a final budget, and as of Thursday, May 1, home health aides are getting new insurance coverage.
Senior reporter Sam Mellins has been reporting on the shady past of the insurer Leading Edge, which has a record of backing out of paying for covered health procedures. Mellins wrote that Leading Edge once tried to cancel a coma patient’s insurance and another time, retracted approval for a surgery after the patient received the bill.
Mellins found something else about Leading Edge’s founders, Barbara and Jerry Weissman: The foundation they control — The Modim Foundation — has given away $4.3 million since 2022 without disclosing who received any of the money. Charities are required to disclose who they give money to, but the Modim Foundation wrote on their tax returns: “Details of the contributions are available upon request.” When Mellins requested the information by phone and certified mail, he got no response.
Continuing our reporting on New York’s political dynasties — Chris Bragg wrote about the Spanos of Yonkers. His reporting, based on hundreds of pages of emails, Mayor Mike Spano’s meetings schedule and other documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Law requests, found that in the year since Mike Spano has taken over as mayor, his brother Nick Spano’s lobbying firm has swelled with clients. These clients include nearly two dozen companies and interest groups that have business before his brother’s administration.
“The Spanos are more than just a political family,” Bragg wrote. “They are a modern-day dynasty that has shaped local politics for decades. According to Mike Spano’s 2023 financial disclosure, 22 of his relatives held city jobs, including three brothers, a sister, 11 nephews, four nieces, and a cousin. That includes another brother, Vincent, Yonkers’s city clerk. The family wields influence over nearly every corner of city government.”
New York Focus contributor Clara Hemphill wrote about the Medicaid cutbacks that could trigger a healthcare crisis for New Yorkers, and the responsibility that the state’s seven Republican members of Congress have to weigh pressure from their party’s leadership to impose budget cuts while a large portion of their constituents rely on Medicaid for critical care.
Hemphill wrote: “Jonathan VanScoy, 54, who lives in a small town in the Finger Lakes, relies on Medicaid for drug and alcohol treatment. Phil, 58, a carpenter in the Adirondacks, uses his health insurance for preventive care, such as a skin screening for cancer or a colonoscopy. Jorge, 32, a construction worker in White Plains, has regular doctor visits and uses an inhaler to keep his asthma under control.
“Jon, Phil, and Jorge are among the millions of New Yorkers who receive free or low-cost health insurance subsidized by the federal government. Now, they fear they will lose their coverage if Republicans in Congress follow through with their plan to cut hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance that covers 6.9 million New Yorkers.”
Education reporter Bianca Fortis took a look at the dire financial situation New York’s school districts are dealing with as a result of declining enrollment.
Fortis wrote: “As people continue to flee New York state due to issues like affordability and housing, school districts say that enrollment declines, along with inconsistent levels of state aid and a reluctance to increase property taxes, can leave them financially vulnerable. Meanwhile, educators say, the cost of providing an education to children continues to increase.”
Stay tuned for more of our coverage this week!
-Alex Arriaga, audience engagement editor
