kiley koscinski
@kileykoscinski.bsky.social
a matryoshka doll brought to life by a benevolent witch. 📻 micslinger, journalist covering health and science in pittsburgh. @wesa.fm (@npr.org) she/her. [email protected]
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Reposted by kiley koscinski
UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pgh filed a response to a federal subpoena seeking the medical records of the health system’s young transgender patients.
In court records, UPMC testified that it has “to date… not disclosed to the government any information or other materials” relevant to the case.
In court records, UPMC testified that it has “to date… not disclosed to the government any information or other materials” relevant to the case.
UPMC weighs in on federal case over the health records of its young transgender patients
Though UPMC’s filing urges the court to delay the sharing of patient records and provider notes, it stops short of arguing against complying with the DOJ subpoena altogether.
www.wesa.fm
November 26, 2025 at 8:24 PM
UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pgh filed a response to a federal subpoena seeking the medical records of the health system’s young transgender patients.
In court records, UPMC testified that it has “to date… not disclosed to the government any information or other materials” relevant to the case.
In court records, UPMC testified that it has “to date… not disclosed to the government any information or other materials” relevant to the case.
Reposted by kiley koscinski
Here's the latest on the video that western PA's Chris Deluzio and other Congressional Dems put up last week urging servicepeople not to follow unlawful orders: The FBI is now seeking interviews, a move Dems say is an attempt to harass and intimidate them.
www.wesa.fm/politics-gov...
www.wesa.fm/politics-gov...
FBI seeks interviews on video message by Deluzio and other Dems, as they decry 'intimidation'
Deluzio posted a group statement from the legislators Tuesday afternoon, confirming that the FBI had requested interviews, and contending that President Donald Trump “is using the FBI as a tool to int...
www.wesa.fm
November 25, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Here's the latest on the video that western PA's Chris Deluzio and other Congressional Dems put up last week urging servicepeople not to follow unlawful orders: The FBI is now seeking interviews, a move Dems say is an attempt to harass and intimidate them.
www.wesa.fm/politics-gov...
www.wesa.fm/politics-gov...
Reposted by kiley koscinski
“Two trials testing the Novo Nordisk weight loss drug semaglutide in Alzheimer’s disease failed, the company said Monday, showing the medicine did not slow the progression…
Studying semaglutide — the key ingredient in the blockbusters Ozempic & Wegovy — in Alzheimer’s was always seen as a long shot”
Studying semaglutide — the key ingredient in the blockbusters Ozempic & Wegovy — in Alzheimer’s was always seen as a long shot”
Novo Nordisk's semaglutide fails to slow Alzheimer's progression
Novo Nordisk's blockbuster weight loss drug semaglutide failed to slow Alzheimer's progression in trials. The studies had been seen as a long shot.
www.statnews.com
November 24, 2025 at 12:47 PM
“Two trials testing the Novo Nordisk weight loss drug semaglutide in Alzheimer’s disease failed, the company said Monday, showing the medicine did not slow the progression…
Studying semaglutide — the key ingredient in the blockbusters Ozempic & Wegovy — in Alzheimer’s was always seen as a long shot”
Studying semaglutide — the key ingredient in the blockbusters Ozempic & Wegovy — in Alzheimer’s was always seen as a long shot”
The infodemic just got a booster shot. The CDC, one of the world’s most powerful health agencies, is now promulgating disinformation.
The CDC website now disseminates disinformation about vaccines, claiming erroneously that infant vaccines might cause autism, when we know conclusively that they do not. It is difficult to overstate just how dangerous this is. www.cdc.gov/vaccine-safe...
November 20, 2025 at 2:13 PM
The infodemic just got a booster shot. The CDC, one of the world’s most powerful health agencies, is now promulgating disinformation.
Reposted by kiley koscinski
The West Virginia University Health System is expanding its reach into western Pennsylvania. Morgantown-based WVU Medicine announced Wednesday that it is acquiring Independence Health System, the Greater Pittsburgh region’s third largest medical provider.
WVU Medicine acquires Independence Health System’s 5 hospitals
Independence Health System oversees Butler Memorial, Clarion, Frick, Latrobe and Westmoreland Hospitals. The western Pennsylvania system has a 10-county footprint and a combined bed count of 925.
www.wesa.fm
November 19, 2025 at 7:01 PM
The West Virginia University Health System is expanding its reach into western Pennsylvania. Morgantown-based WVU Medicine announced Wednesday that it is acquiring Independence Health System, the Greater Pittsburgh region’s third largest medical provider.
Reposted by kiley koscinski
On the ByHeart formula recall: “I have never seen a company so aggressively fight to deny the evidence against them," @cspinet.org's Sarah Sorscher said. Why food safety experts are alarmed by the company's response to the infant botulism outbreak:
www.statnews.com/2025/11/14/b...
www.statnews.com/2025/11/14/b...
ByHeart’s ‘bizarre’ response to infant botulism outbreak worries food safety experts
ByHeart’s ‘bizarre’ response to infant botulism outbreak worries food safety experts.
www.statnews.com
November 14, 2025 at 4:04 PM
On the ByHeart formula recall: “I have never seen a company so aggressively fight to deny the evidence against them," @cspinet.org's Sarah Sorscher said. Why food safety experts are alarmed by the company's response to the infant botulism outbreak:
www.statnews.com/2025/11/14/b...
www.statnews.com/2025/11/14/b...
Reposted by kiley koscinski
Research on brain disorders may slow as young neuroscientists struggle to find jobs and research grants. n.pr/4pgmAna
As funding falters, young brain scientists rethink careers in research
Research on brain disorders may slow as young neuroscientists struggle to find jobs and research grants.
n.pr
November 15, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Research on brain disorders may slow as young neuroscientists struggle to find jobs and research grants. n.pr/4pgmAna
Reposted by kiley koscinski
Sharon Camp, a public policy expert and advocate for women’s reproductive health who was known as the mother of Plan B, the emergency contraceptive pill, and who founded what was surely one of the world’s smallest pharmaceutical companies to bring it to market, died on Oct. 25 in Maryland.
Sharon Camp, Mother of the ‘Plan B’ Contraceptive Pill, Dies at 83
An advocate for women’s reproductive health, she started one of the world’s smallest pharmaceutical companies to bring an emergency birth-control method to market.
nyti.ms
November 14, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Sharon Camp, a public policy expert and advocate for women’s reproductive health who was known as the mother of Plan B, the emergency contraceptive pill, and who founded what was surely one of the world’s smallest pharmaceutical companies to bring it to market, died on Oct. 25 in Maryland.
Reposted by kiley koscinski
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania is being treated Thursday at a Pittsburgh hospital after falling earlier in the day outside his home in Braddock, according to a spokesman for his office.
Sen. Fetterman hospitalized in Pittsburgh after heart episode, fall outside his Braddock home
Fetterman fell, hitting his face, while taking a walk and experiencing an episode of ventricular fibrillation, according to a spokesperson.
www.wesa.fm
November 13, 2025 at 7:22 PM
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania is being treated Thursday at a Pittsburgh hospital after falling earlier in the day outside his home in Braddock, according to a spokesman for his office.
Reposted by kiley koscinski
“DHS is working quickly to restart issuing full SNAP benefits,” read an announcement on the state Department of Human Services website. “The process for this may take a few days for all remaining households to receive their payments.”
Benefits should be paid by the end of the week, according to DHS
Benefits should be paid by the end of the week, according to DHS
Pennsylvanians still awaiting November SNAP benefits should get them within a few days
Pennsylvanians who have been waiting for food assistance benefits delayed by the federal government shutdown should get them soon.
www.wesa.fm
November 13, 2025 at 8:45 PM
“DHS is working quickly to restart issuing full SNAP benefits,” read an announcement on the state Department of Human Services website. “The process for this may take a few days for all remaining households to receive their payments.”
Benefits should be paid by the end of the week, according to DHS
Benefits should be paid by the end of the week, according to DHS
Reposted by kiley koscinski
The warning is specific to people who used Terminals A and B between 8:50 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 9, according to a release from the city’s Department of Public Health. Travelers are asked to verify their immunization records and be aware of possible symptoms.
Health department warns of possible measles exposure at Philadelphia International Airport
The warning is precautionary; the health department said it believes there is no threat to the public.
www.wesa.fm
November 12, 2025 at 7:30 PM
The warning is specific to people who used Terminals A and B between 8:50 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 9, according to a release from the city’s Department of Public Health. Travelers are asked to verify their immunization records and be aware of possible symptoms.
Reposted by kiley koscinski
The Third Circuit ruled in favor of @pghguild.com and said the Post-Gazette bargained in bad faith by offering contracts that took away key reasons for being in the union. The union is declaring victory after 3 years on strike, as the court ordered the paper to roll back changes it made in 2020.
3rd Circ. Rules Post-Gazette Bargained In Bad Faith - Law360
The Third Circuit on Monday affirmed that the publisher of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette had been bargaining with its unions in bad faith and should not have unilaterally imposed a new contract on newsr...
www.law360.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:31 PM
The Third Circuit ruled in favor of @pghguild.com and said the Post-Gazette bargained in bad faith by offering contracts that took away key reasons for being in the union. The union is declaring victory after 3 years on strike, as the court ordered the paper to roll back changes it made in 2020.
Reposted by kiley koscinski
The FDA is reversing a 2003 decision that put a stringent warning on hormone therapy products for menopausal women, saying that the treatments offer heart, brain, and bone health benefits. www.statnews.com/2025/11/10/f...
FDA reverses decades-old warning on hormone therapy products for menopause
The FDA is reversing a 2003 decision that put a stringent warning on hormone therapy products for menopausal women, saying that the treatments offer heart, brain, and bone health benefits.
www.statnews.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:02 PM
The FDA is reversing a 2003 decision that put a stringent warning on hormone therapy products for menopausal women, saying that the treatments offer heart, brain, and bone health benefits. www.statnews.com/2025/11/10/f...
Reposted by kiley koscinski
BREAKING: The Supreme Court rejects a call to overturn its decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide.
Supreme Court rejects call to overturn its decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide
The Supreme Court has rejected a call to overturn its landmark decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
bit.ly
November 10, 2025 at 2:41 PM
BREAKING: The Supreme Court rejects a call to overturn its decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide.
Reposted by kiley koscinski
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has launched an unprecedented review of routine shots given to kids, alarming public health experts. n.pr/47FYT0b
Under RFK Jr., the CDC is scrutinizing the childhood vaccine schedule
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has launched an unprecedented review of routine shots given to kids, alarming public health experts.
n.pr
November 7, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has launched an unprecedented review of routine shots given to kids, alarming public health experts. n.pr/47FYT0b
Scoop: The University of Pittsburgh will maintain its current federal funding for indirect research costs after cuts announced earlier this year threatened to push one of the region’s major research institutions off a financial cliff.
www.wesa.fm/health-scien...
www.wesa.fm/health-scien...
NIH under Trump wanted to cut indirect research costs to 15%. Pitt just signed an agreement at 59%
Pitt and the Department of Health and Human Services have agreed to maintain the school’s current 59% reimbursement rate for ancillary research costs through 2029.
www.wesa.fm
November 7, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Scoop: The University of Pittsburgh will maintain its current federal funding for indirect research costs after cuts announced earlier this year threatened to push one of the region’s major research institutions off a financial cliff.
www.wesa.fm/health-scien...
www.wesa.fm/health-scien...
Reposted by kiley koscinski
A case that could redefine abortion access in Pennsylvania was argued before the state’s Commonwealth Court Wednesday. Abortion clinics are challenging the state’s restrictions on Medicaid coverage for abortion, and argue such limits are unconstitutional and discriminatory.
Pa. Commonwealth Court examines whether Medicaid abortion ban violates equal rights protections
“We have two parties who have made totally opposite assertions about the facts, the impact, the health [of women], the competing state interest [in the] life of the mother, life of the child and taxpa...
www.wesa.fm
November 6, 2025 at 3:57 PM
A case that could redefine abortion access in Pennsylvania was argued before the state’s Commonwealth Court Wednesday. Abortion clinics are challenging the state’s restrictions on Medicaid coverage for abortion, and argue such limits are unconstitutional and discriminatory.
Reposted by kiley koscinski
BREAKING: The government shutdown entered its 36th day, breaking a record set during President Trump’s first term as impact spreads nationwide.
Government shutdown becomes the longest on record as fallout spreads nationwide
The government shutdown has entered its 36th day, breaking the record as the longest ever.
bit.ly
November 5, 2025 at 5:14 AM
BREAKING: The government shutdown entered its 36th day, breaking a record set during President Trump’s first term as impact spreads nationwide.
Reposted by kiley koscinski
A federal government shutdown has now slumped into its third week — and unless something changes, Pittsburgh-area Democrats warn, roughly hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians are days away from learning their health insurance premiums will jump by 75%.
'Devastating' insurance premium spikes loom due to federal impasse, Deluzio warns
At the center of the government shutdown is an impasse over the extension of tax credits available under the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare.”
www.wesa.fm
October 22, 2025 at 8:14 PM
A federal government shutdown has now slumped into its third week — and unless something changes, Pittsburgh-area Democrats warn, roughly hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians are days away from learning their health insurance premiums will jump by 75%.
Reposted by kiley koscinski
The Mission of Mercy Pittsburgh’s annual two-day clinic returns to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center this weekend. The event offers free dental, vision and hearing services on Oct. 24 and 25 on a first-come, first-served basis.
Free health clinic offers dental, vision and hearing care in Downtown Pittsburgh this weekend
The goal of the clinic is to narrow gaps in health care access for people without insurance or without coverage for dental, vision and hearing care — which are often left out of traditional health…
buff.ly
October 22, 2025 at 2:06 PM
The Mission of Mercy Pittsburgh’s annual two-day clinic returns to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center this weekend. The event offers free dental, vision and hearing services on Oct. 24 and 25 on a first-come, first-served basis.
Reposted by kiley koscinski
The spike in costs is being driven, in part, by the fact that Congress hasn’t extended enhanced tax credits that currently help people afford their monthly premiums, Pennsylvania leaders and insurance companies said.
Pa. approves higher ACA health insurance premiums for 2026, with some price hikes as high as 38%
Insurance regulators say Pennie customers will see premiums rise by 21% on average, which factors in the potential loss of federal premium tax credits, or health subsidies.
buff.ly
October 16, 2025 at 4:45 PM
The spike in costs is being driven, in part, by the fact that Congress hasn’t extended enhanced tax credits that currently help people afford their monthly premiums, Pennsylvania leaders and insurance companies said.
Pennsylvania cut funding for HIV service orgs by 25% this month + lowered income qualifications for help covering expensive HIV meds.
@wesa.fm: a story of one HIV survivor who counts himself lucky to have made it to 68. Now he faces being cut off from his state support.
www.wesa.fm/health-scien...
@wesa.fm: a story of one HIV survivor who counts himself lucky to have made it to 68. Now he faces being cut off from his state support.
www.wesa.fm/health-scien...
As Pennsylvania limits HIV support, some patients face soaring medical bills
In a memo, the state health department explained the new restrictions are the result of an “unprecedented increase in program enrollment” as well as high costs of medication. It warned the state may a...
www.wesa.fm
October 17, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Pennsylvania cut funding for HIV service orgs by 25% this month + lowered income qualifications for help covering expensive HIV meds.
@wesa.fm: a story of one HIV survivor who counts himself lucky to have made it to 68. Now he faces being cut off from his state support.
www.wesa.fm/health-scien...
@wesa.fm: a story of one HIV survivor who counts himself lucky to have made it to 68. Now he faces being cut off from his state support.
www.wesa.fm/health-scien...
Reposted by kiley koscinski
#Breaking: Medicare payments to doctors paused as government shutdown drags on www.statnews.com/2025/10/15/c...
Medicare payments to doctors paused as government shutdown drags on
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is pausing Medicare payments to doctors, as negotiations tied to the government shutdown drag on.
www.statnews.com
October 15, 2025 at 10:34 PM
#Breaking: Medicare payments to doctors paused as government shutdown drags on www.statnews.com/2025/10/15/c...
Reposted by kiley koscinski
More than 1,000 staff members at the CDC were laid off Friday, affecting units that respond to infectious-disease outbreaks, analyze science and health data to develop policy, and monitor the safety of employees.
Mass CDC cuts hit staff dealing with measles, Ebola and disease forecasting
Another round of mass layoffs has struck CDC. The agency had already been cut during a reorganization this year, and more employees are now being shed amid the government shutdown.
wapo.st
October 11, 2025 at 9:15 PM
More than 1,000 staff members at the CDC were laid off Friday, affecting units that respond to infectious-disease outbreaks, analyze science and health data to develop policy, and monitor the safety of employees.
Reposted by kiley koscinski
Per CDC source: At internal leadership meeting this afternoon, it was shared that 1,257 people were RIF'd at CDC. Number may not be final. Apparently, chief of staff was unaware that RIFs were going to occur so not clear who is making decisions. (Short 🧵)
October 11, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Per CDC source: At internal leadership meeting this afternoon, it was shared that 1,257 people were RIF'd at CDC. Number may not be final. Apparently, chief of staff was unaware that RIFs were going to occur so not clear who is making decisions. (Short 🧵)