1.7 million window AC units recalled nationwide
With extreme heat plaguing Western Pennsylvania, window air conditioners are working overtime across the region. But residents should double check their model. Midea recently recalled about 1.7 million U and U+ window air conditioners nationwide for risk of mold exposure, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Included in...
UPMC to stop gender-affirming care for patients 18 and under by month’s end
UPMC has confirmed it will end gender-affirming care for patients 18 and younger in response to the Trump administration’s policies aimed at transgender youth. A spokesperson for UPMC, the region’s largest hospital network, said federal guidance has made it clear clinicians who provide care such as puberty blockers and
hormone...
Highmark joins major insurers in prior authorization reform
Highmark was among more than 50 health insurers who pledged Monday to speed up and slim down prior authorization, the process through which patients and their doctors must seek insurance approval for certain care before it’s administered. “It’s all about decreasing the administrative burden,” said Highmark Chief Medical Officer Tim...
Aflac finds suspicious activity on U.S. network that may impact Social Security numbers, other data
Aflac says that it has identified suspicious activity on its network in the U.S. that may impact Social Security numbers and other personal information, calling the incident part of a cybercrime campaign against the insurance industry. The company said Friday that the intrusion was stopped within hours. “We continue to...
U.K. lawmakers back bill to allow terminally ill adults to end their lives
LONDON — U.K. lawmakers on Friday approved a bill to allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales to choose to end their lives in a historic vote in Parliament that takes it a step nearer to becoming law. Members of Parliament voted 314-291 to back the Terminally Ill Adults...
Purdue Pharma’s $7B opioid settlement plan could get votes from victims and cities
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma ‘s $7 billion-plus plan to settle thousands of lawsuits over the toll of opioids will go before a judge Friday, potentially setting up votes on whether to accept it for local governments, people who became addicted to the drug and other groups. This month, 49 states...
Study: ‘Forever chemicals’ detected in 65% of sampled private wells, 18% had levels beyond standards
A team of researchers from Penn State University found that 18% of sampled private wells in the state had levels of PFAS that was higher than drinking water standards. Penn State announced the research findings Wednesday, and the study will be in the July issue of the Journal of Environmental...
The world’s only twice-a-year shot to prevent HIV could stop transmission — if people can get it
WASHINGTON — The U.S. has approved the world’s only twice-a-year shot to prevent HIV, the first step in an anticipated global rollout that could protect millions – although it’s unclear how many in the U.S. and abroad will get access to the powerful new option. While a vaccine to prevent...
U.S. abortion clinics are closing even in states where abortion is legal; more cuts could be coming
The abortion funding system across the U.S. is battered three years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed states to enforce bans. An initial surge of donations has subsided, scores of clinics have closed and advocates fear that federal policy changes will result in more shutting down....
Texas measles outbreak sees slight increase in cases, hospitalizations
DALLAS — After hitting last week’s milestone of no new cases, the Texas measles outbreak has increased again. The Texas Department of State Health Services on Tuesday reported there have been 744 cases since the outbreak began in late January, an increase of two cases since the department’s previous update...
Low-income Pennsylvanians could lose access to weight-loss drugs as Harrisburg searches for savings
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — Low-income Pennsylvanians could lose access to medical coverage for popular weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy as state lawmakers search for savings in...
Kennedy’s new CDC panel includes members who have criticized vaccines and spread misinformation
NEW YORK — U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday named eight new vaccine policy advisers to replace the panel that he abruptly dismissed earlier this week. They include a scientist who researched mRNA vaccine technology and became a conservative darling for his criticisms of covid-19 vaccines, a...
Kennedy names 8 vaccine committee replacements, including covid shot critic
NEW YORK — U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday named eight new vaccine policy advisers to replace the panel that he abruptly dismissed earlier this week. They include a scientist who researched mRNA vaccine technology and transformed into a conservative darling for his criticisms of covid-19 vaccines,...
EPA moves to repeal rules that limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants
WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday proposed repealing rules that limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants fueled by coal and natural gas, an action that Administrator Lee Zeldin said would remove billions of dollars in costs for industry and “unleash” American energy. The EPA also proposed weakening...
Medical experts slam Kennedy’s dismissal of CDC vaccine advisers
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to remove every member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee has sparked major outcry among the health care community. Some medical experts, including doctors in Western Pennsylvania, say he has created a hostile environment for vaccines. On Monday,...
Study: If U.S. halted fluoride, kids’ cavities would grow by millions
Fluoride — it’s in your toothpaste, your drinking water and now the occasional legislative bill. Two U.S. states have already decided to stop adding it to their water supplies — a trend concerning local dental experts. Now, a new study has discovered what banning the mineral on a larger scale...
RFK Jr. ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory committee
WASHINGTON — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday removed every member of a scientific committee that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how to use vaccines and pledged to replace them with his own picks. Major physicians and public health groups criticized the move to...
‘We dissent’: NIH scientists publish declaration criticizing Trump’s deep cuts in public health researchVideo
WASHINGTON — In his confirmation hearings to lead the National Institutes of Health, Jay Bhattacharya pledged his openness to views that might conflict with his own. “Dissent,” he said, “is the very essence of science.” That commitment is being put to the test. On Monday, scores of scientists at the...
At UPMC’s Stroke Camp, survivors build their skills and strut their stuff
After getting a little help with his footing, Jay Perino used his legs to push his body up the rock wall, reaching for the closest handhold. For someone with limited mobility on the left side of his body as a result of a stroke, it was no easy feat. Must...
Salmonella outbreak tied to eggs sickens dozens across 7 states
A salmonella outbreak linked to a large egg recall has made dozens of people sick in seven states in the West and Midwest, federal health officials said. The August Egg Company recalled about 1.7 million brown organic and brown cage-free egg varieties distributed to grocery stores between February and May...
Demand for Mohs surgery skyrockets; treatment up to 99% effective for skin cancer
Erin Wheeler has always known she was at high risk for skin cancer. A kidney transplant, combined with fair skin from her Irish heritage, put skin cancer on her radar at age 10. Some three decades later, Wheeler, a senior career consultant at the University of Pittsburgh, is a quasi-regular...
Report: Medicaid cuts will hurt Pa. hospitals, patients
Some Western Pennsylvania hospitals could see an increase in uninsured patients and corresponding drop in reimbursements from Medicaid if the U.S. House-approved $723 billion in funding cuts to states is enacted, health advocates and state officials say. Ultimately, that could cause a reduction in services, officials said. “They’re (hospitals) going...
Pitt QB shaves head for girl recovering from transplant, family facing immigration issues
Pitt Panthers quarterback Eli Holstein, his teammates and coaches are doing their part to boost the spirits of Julia Espinosa. The 13-year-old patient at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh has complex health issues that prompted her to decide to shave her head after she lost most of her hair. Her...
New covid variant could come with extremely painful symptom
Just when we all thought covid was far behind us, a new variant has emerged to threaten our well-being once again. The new variant, known as NB.1.8.1, has made its way to the United States. The variant, which was first discovered in China earlier this year, currently accounts for 10%...
Trump EPA moves to roll back rules projected to save billions of dollars and thousands of lives
When the head of the Environmental Protection Agency announced a wide-ranging rollback of environmental regulations, he said it would put a “dagger through the heart of climate-change religion” and introduce a “Golden Age” for the American economy. What Lee Zeldin didn’t mention: how ending the rules could have devastating consequences...
