UPMC v Highmark: Chapter 897689

Highmark UPMC

For the past several months, I have been interviewed by reporter Carolyn Johnson for a Washington Post piece on the Pittsburgh healthcare scene. More specifically, she was writing about the impact of two companies ‘stacking’ healthcare insurance with healthcare providers into what we know as UPMC and Highmark/Allegheny Health Network. I think vertical integration is the […]

When Allegheny Health Network & Highmark Aren’t on Speaking Terms

lesbian hysterectomy

So I still have no date for my hysterectomy. My doctor, Lee Hammons, joined Allegheny Women’s Health in September 2017. They are part of the Allegheny Health Network (AHN) which is owned by Highmark. We have Highmark insurance. But Highmark has not yet approved Dr. Hammons to perform surgeries. At least, that’s what his office […]

Forbes Hospital’s Inadequate Response to Transphobic Employees

Via KDKA TV, last night I learned about a developing story at Forbes Hospital in Monroeville. Some anonymous female employees at this Allegheny Health Network facility had voiced complaints about a trans woman employee being permitted to use the ladies bathroom. First, the good. Allegheny Health Network is following the law with regard to allowing […]

Pitt Health Study Explores Disparities in LGBT Research

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on new research published today. The National Institutes of Health funded only a negligible number of studies researching the health of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people over more than two decades, according to an analysis led by the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. Because of that, health […]

UPMC/Highmark – It’s a Catty New World

Friday night, our car was rear ended while we running some errands. No one was seriously hurt – it was just an accident. The car in front of us made a sudden right hand turn into a car dealership. We were able to stop, but the woman behind us was not. Most important, her son […]