Trump’s $90 Medicare rebate rolls out, but millions aren’t eligible. Critics see a political stunt
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says his administration will make one-time payments of $90 per person to help more than 20 million Medicare enrollees pay for their Part B premiums. It will cost about $2 billion. Less than one-third of all Medicare recipients are eligible for the payments, which are...
UPMC working to iron out issues as patients grapple with patient portal, medical record transition
Following a computer software and electronic record-keeping change at UPMC on Saturday, some patients have complained of problems with its MyUPMC patient portal, ranging from being unable to access their accounts to information appearing missing from them and increased wait times at medical facilities. Years in the making, the technical...
Highmark Health names 1st female CEO
Highmark Health has named Karen Hanlon as its new CEO, making her the first woman to lead the Pittsburgh-based healthcare giant. Hanlon will begin working in her new position and continuing her duties as president starting Jan. 1. Hanlon replaces David Holmberg, who has served as CEO since 2014. He...
How Russia and the world are responding to a possible case of pneumonic plague after lab worker dies
GENEVA — The World Health Organization says a possible case of pneumonic plague in Russia presents a “very low” risk outside the country as investigators look into what caused the death of a lab employee there last week. The U.N. health agency said Tuesday that it has been in contact...
Measles cases top 1K in Pa.Video
Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Debra Bogen said Monday federal epidemiological assistance in the state’s ongoing measles outbreak is still on the table despite a previous rift between state and national health officials. Her comments — which she gave after an event in Pittsburgh promoting the covid-19 vaccine — came as...
Board votes to review fracking exemptions in Allegheny County
The Allegheny County Board of Health wants the health department to take a closer look at air-quality permitting exceptions that apply to oil and natural gas operations, including unconventional wells that use hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking. At its September meeting, the board voted unanimously to direct health department...
Nobel medicine prize goes to 3 scientists for research into brain activity
STOCKHOLM — The Nobel Prize in medicine was awarded Monday to three scientists who created a tool using light to help unravel how the brain works. Karl Deisseroth, 54, Peter Hegemann, 71, and Georg Nagel, 73, have carried out research into light-gated ion channels and optogenetics. The Nobel Assembly lauded...
Trump announces $90 payments for seniors on Medicare ahead of midterm elections for premium costs
President Donald Trump is promising more payments to voters just ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections — this time, to more than 20 million seniors, giving them $90 each to help pay for Medicare premiums. The announcement, made late Friday night by Trump on social media, comes after the...
Young doctors who broke into field during covid now grapple with measles resurgenceVideo
The current generation of doctors learned about measles in medical school — but rarely expected to see it. Now they are having to diagnose and treat patients infected with measles. And they’re leaning on lessons learned from another notorious disease: covid-19. Measles cases are at a 35-year high. What had...
WVU Medicine marks new presence in Westmoreland with employee celebration
As Westmoreland Hospital staff enjoyed a picnic lunch Monday to celebrate the transition from Independence Health System to WVU Medicine, employee Barry Tocco was keeping an eye out for a friend of his who also works there. “He said he was going to wear his Pitt hat today,” Tocco said...
Pitt, UPMC researchers test vaccine aimed at preventing invasive breast cancer
A vaccine being tested by University of Pittsburgh researchers could one day prevent some breast cancers before they become invasive — potentially stopping the disease before it truly starts. The experimental vaccine builds on decades of research by Pitt cancer researcher Dr. Olivera Finn, whose work identifying a molecule associated...
Western Pennsylvania experts say why measles is surging but mumps and rubella aren’t
Measles has made a troubling comeback in the U.S. as MMR vaccination rates have fallen. But the same vaccine protects against two other viruses — mumps and rubella. So why haven’t they made a similar resurgence? “The simple answer is that measles is the canary in the coal mine,” said...
In a heartbeat: Why getting a colonoscopy is easier than you think
According to the American Cancer Society, colorectal cancer is the second deadliest cancer overall, third deadliest among men and fourth deadliest among women. It’s expected to cause around 55,000 deaths in the U.S. in 2026, also according to the ACS. One way to detect the cancer? A colonoscopy. Dr. Nabeeha...
Documents reveal cost of UPMC-Trinity deal
UPMC made a $120 million deal to acquire Trinity Health System, a four-hospital nonprofit in eastern Ohio, according to a document submitted to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. The document — a notification of a proposed nonprofit merger — was made public as part of a statement by the SEIU...
Cyclospora found at Mexican farmed linked to lettuce outbreak, FDA says
WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration said Friday that its inspectors detected cyclospora at the Mexican farm blamed for the largest foodborne illness outbreak of the parasite in U.S. history. Despite the finding, the FDA said it’s unclear how the parasite got into lettuce at Taylor Farms’ facility. The...
No longer a secret, Nathan Fielder’s Elizabeth Holmes doc ‘You Can See Everything’ lands in New York
NEW YORK — No longer a secret, “You Can See Everything,” Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s Elizabeth Holmes documentary, premiered Wednesday at the New York Film Festival. Since first debuting in a surprise, no-phones screening at the Telluride Film Festival on Sept. 6, “You Can See Everything” immediately transformed into...
Mario Lemieux Foundation gives $5M to launch UPMC microbiome cancer research center
The Pittsburgh hockey legend known as “Le Magnifique” has made a multimillion-dollar play to help fund a team working to keep cancer and other diseases pinned firmly to the boards with systemic gut checks. A $5 million gift from The Mario Lemieux Foundation to the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center has...
5 Western Pa. hospitals officially join West Virginia University Health SystemVideo
West Virginia University Health System’s formal entrance into Westmoreland County has local officials excited for the future. The Morgantown-based hospital system on Thursday announced that hospitals in Greensburg, Latrobe and Mt. Pleasant, along with facilities in Butler and Clarion counties, have officially been added to the health system. Officials said...
Pa. health department backs off attempt to update disease-tracking rules amid pushback
The Pennsylvania Department of Health has retreated from an attempt to change disease-tracking regulations, last updated 25 years ago, in the face of considerable resistance from residents and Republican lawmakers. The department announced Friday in a brief letter signed by health department Secretary Dr. Debra Bogen it will rescind the...
Pa. records 5th measles death with infections over 900
Pennsylvania has recorded a fifth measles-associated death as an outbreak that has sickened more than 900 people across the state continues, according to state data released Wednesday. The state Health Department said the person was an unvaccinated Lancaster County resident who tested positive for measles and died. Neil Ruhland, a...
UPMC completes acquisition of Ohio-based Trinity Health System
UPMC has officially expanded its footprint into Ohio. The Pittsburgh-based hospital system and insurer announced Wednesday that it had completed its acquisition of Trinity Health System from Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health. Trinity’s facilities will transfer to UPMC on Thursday. They include Trinity East and West campuses — both in Steubenville —...
Senate committee advances Dr. Nicole Saphier’s nomination for surgeon general
WASHINGTON — Dr. Nicole Saphier, President Donald Trump ‘s third nominee for surgeon general, moved a step closer to confirmation after a Senate committee voted to advance her nomination on Wednesday. Saphier, a radiologist and former Fox News Channel contributor, was advanced out of the Senate Committee on Health, Education,...
Rural MAHA followers say Trump hasn’t improved health of their communities, an AP-KFF poll finds
WASHINGTON — About half of rural voters identify with Make America Healthy Again, a sprawling political movement championed by the Trump administration, but most said President Donald Trump’s healthcare policies have not benefited their communities, according to a new poll from The Associated Press in partnership with KFF. About 8...
Doctors fear staying power of measles, a disease once eliminated in U.S.
Medical experts say highly contagious measles, once eliminated in the U.S., has gained enough of a foothold through rising vaccine hesitancy to reestablish itself as an ongoing problem. Despite a safe and readily available vaccine safeguard against the ailment, measles outbreaks are likely to continue in the coming months and...
Pittsburgh schools, community organizations responding to SNAP benefit cuts
Having a food and resource pantry at Pittsburgh Arlington PreK-8 is meaningful to Erica Wahid, a mother to a second grade student at the school. “I’m a single mom, and I’m doing everything I can to take care of my child,” Wahid said. “I need SNAP benefits, and being denied...
