More than 40,000 people in Pittsburgh had their medical debt erased. Here's who qualified.
Pittsburgh City Councilman Bobby Wilson said more than 43,000 Pittsburgh residents have had $58 million in medical debt cleared thanks to the city's partnership with Undue Medical Debt, a non-profit organization in Boston that works to end medical debt. The organization said it has helped relieve more than $20.3 billion in medical debt.
Wilson said in a news release on Monday that "this milestone" comes after legislation that authorized Pittsburgh to contract with Undue Medical Debt to identify and erase qualifying medical debt held by city residents.
"I'm thrilled to partner with the City of Pittsburgh on this transformative medical debt relief initiative that will bring much-needed good news to thousands of residents," Undue Medical Debt President and CEO Allison Sesso said in Wilson's news release. "Medical debt is both a financial and emotional burden that forces families to make difficult decisions and often prevents patients from getting the care they need."
To qualify, Pittsburgh residents had to have a household income no higher than 400% of the federal poverty level or have medical debt equal to 5% of their annual income.
There was no application process, as qualified residents were found through hospitals, health care providers and debt collectors. Pittsburghers will begin getting letters with details this week.
"No one should be burdened simply because they got sick. Relieving this debt will have a significant impact on the lives of many Pittsburghers," Wilson said in the news release.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
7 minutes ago
- Yahoo
iCRYO's CEO and CAO to Join Vitality Business Summit 2025 as Featured Speakers
DALLAS, Aug. 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- iCRYO, a leading health, wellness, and longevity franchise, is excited to announce that its CEO and Co-Founder, Kyle Jones, and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Scott Briner, will be featured speakers at the Vitality Business Summit 2025. The summit, scheduled for October 3-5, 2025, at the Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center in Dallas, Texas, is organized and hosted by brothers Chris and Brad Himel of Himel Health, longtime consultants for health and wellness clinics. Leveraging their network, they are bringing together brand entrepreneurs, clinic owners, and other health enthusiasts to shape the future of health and wellness. Emphasizing practical solutions over passing trends, The Vitality Business Summit promises to equip attendees with the tools to build scalable, purpose-driven businesses. Kyle W. Jones, as a pioneer in cryotherapy and holistic wellness going back to 2015, will join a host of other accomplished leaders in the industry, including acclaimed speaker and author Tim Storey, motivational speaker Jenn Drummond, BrainTap founder Dr. Patrick Porter, business coach Raquel Diehm, and OxyHealth CEO Dr. Mayur Patel, to name a few. "I'm thrilled to speak at the Vitality Business Summit and share the strategies that have fueled iCRYO's growth while keeping wellness accessible," said Jones. "At the same time, this event is a catalyst for change, with innovation and adoption moving ever faster in this space. This summit offers us a chance to keep our finger on the pulse and connect with other professionals building businesses that will make a lasting impact." iCRYO's CAO and former hospital CEO Scott Briner echoed Jones' thoughts, adding, "I'm honored to join Kyle as a speaker and represent iCRYO at the Vitality Business Summit this fall. We've developed what we believe is the new industry-standard for medical care in a retail environment, and we're proud to share it with the world any chance we get. However, we're always looking to learn, grow, and improve iCRYO's service and offerings, and this event gives us that chance." The summit caters to a diverse audience, from solo practitioners to multi-unit clinic owners, offering unparalleled opportunities to learn sales and marketing frameworks used by successful clinics, network with world-class experts, explore dozens of vendors showcasing the latest in wellness modalities and therapies, develop a tailored growth plan, and create lasting partnerships. Early Bird pricing offers up to 50% off General Admission and 33% off VIP tickets, which include a VIP Lunch with speakers on Sunday. Attendees are encouraged to secure their spots now as both General Admission and VIP tickets are going fast with these early bird offers. Event Details: Date: October 3-5, 2025 Location: Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center, Dallas, Texas Tickets: Available at About iCRYO Founded in 2015, iCRYO's mission is to elevate the quality of life of its team members, guests, and franchisees by providing affordable, professional, and convenient personal health services while raising the standard as a global wellness brand. To learn more about its services, locations, and franchise opportunities, visit iCRYO Media Contact Robbie JenkinsDirector of View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE iCRYO Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
New York Times
9 minutes ago
- New York Times
Joseph Lovett, TV Producer Who Shed an Early Light on AIDS, Dies at 80
Joseph Lovett, a broadcast news producer and documentarian who made one of the first long-form network television segments on the AIDS crisis and who plumbed his own personal tragedies in works that blended reporting and public health advocacy, died on July 14 at his home in Manhattan. He was 80. The cause was cardiopulmonary arrest, his grandnephew Sayer Pease said. As an openly gay producer, Mr. Lovett was a rarity in the broadcast news world of the 1970s and '80s. Working at CBS and ABC, he pursued news segments aimed at destigmatizing gay life in the United States and drawing attention to the AIDS crisis at a time when that subject was largely overlooked by mainstream news organizations. In May 1983, when Mr. Lovett produced the first long-form news segment on AIDS for the ABC News program '20/20,' the disease had received slim coverage since being identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1981. Only a handful of mainstream outlets, including 'PBS NewsHour,' The New York Times Magazine and Newsweek, had spotlighted it. After witnessing friends dying of the disease, he resolved to cover it. In the resulting segment, a young Geraldo Rivera sounded the alarm about the crisis in interviews with public officials, patients, researchers and activists, including Dr. Edward N. Brandt Jr., assistant secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services; Dr. Anthony Fauci, who at the time was an immunology researcher at the National Institutes of Health; and the playwright and AIDS activist Larry Kramer. The segment criticized the Reagan administration's slow response to the crisis and singled out The Times for an absence of AIDS-related articles on its front page. After it aired, letters of support poured in from AIDS patients, health officials and fellow journalists across the country. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Washington Post
9 minutes ago
- Washington Post
RFK Jr.'s slander of mRNA technology will harm Americans
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s decision to cancel almost $500 million in contracts for projects to develop vaccines using mRNA technology underscores perhaps the greatest harm that he might inflict on the nation with his anti-vaccine ideology. The disparagement of existing immunizations by the health and human services secretary is dangerous on its own, in that it might persuade people to forego recommended shots and reduce herd immunity against diseases. But potentially even worse are the impacts that will be harder to see: the diseases that public health officials won't be able to fight because of the lifesaving innovations he is cutting short. Kennedy's resistance against mRNA vaccines is without evidence. In fact, the technology — which instructs the body's cells to produce a harmless bit of virus that is then used to train the immune system, as opposed to using weakened or dead versions of a virus — delivered arguably the most important achievement of President Donald Trump's first term: the production of effective vaccines against the novel coronavirus within the span of a few months. Such speed was practically unheard-of in biomedical research. Thanks to the urgency created by Operation Warp Speed, the federal government was able to mount an impressive vaccination rollout that boosted the population's immunity to the coronavirus just when it was needed. As with any medical treatment, these vaccines were not perfect. In very rare instances among adolescents, they resulted in a serious side effect known as myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle. Their effectiveness also waned over time as the coronavirus mutated, as is the case with vaccines for other respiratory diseases. But there can be no doubt: These vaccines saved millions of lives. Kennedy absurdly claimed in a video statement that 'mRNA vaccines don't perform well against viruses that infect the upper respiratory tract.' He further claimed that a single mutation in a virus can render vaccines 'ineffective.' He even went so far as to argue that this effect 'encourages' mutations and could 'prolong' a pandemic. This is just plain wrong, as the covid pandemic demonstrated. The effectiveness of mRNA coronavirus vaccines might have diminished over time, but they continued to protect people against severe illness over the course of multiple strains. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continued to recommend the shots for vulnerable populations for that reason, and manufacturers updated boosters to combat new strains. Giving up on this game-changing technology will slow down scientific innovation, leaving Americans more vulnerable to diseases. Kennedy just canceled or altered 22 mRNA projects that were supported by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. On the chopping block are vaccine developments for several respiratory illnesses. That includes a project to defend the country against the H5N1 bird flu virus, which scientists warn could spiral into a deadly pandemic if someone contracts it while also infected with the seasonal flu virus. And that's just the beginning. Researchers are eager to deploy mRNA technology against a slew of other hard-to-tackle pathogens, from hepatitis C to HIV to malaria. There are even efforts to use this approach to activate the immune system to attack cancer cells and to treat other genetic diseases. Some scientists have suggested this research could also be essential for national security, as it might help defend against attacks from biological weapons. Calling Kennedy's latest actions shortsighted understates the gravity of his slander. Americans will bear the cost of his rejection of science.
