Beginning early next year, Lehigh Valley Health Network will be dropping UnitedHealthcare plans and will be considered an out-of-network provider. That move could affect about 70,000 patients who have UnitedHealthcare plans. Those 70,000 could still be treated at LVHN facilities, but would have to pay higher out-of-pocket costs. Contracts will end Jan. 25, 2026, for patients who have Medicare Advantage plans through UnitedHealthcare, and April 25, 2026, for patients with commercial insurance policies. The move only affects patients seeking care at legacy LVHN hospitals and doctor offices. Jefferson Health has separate contracts with UnitedHealthcare that will remain in effect.
There are now five people charged in a shooting death at an Allentown park last year. The Lehigh County DA's office now says 22-year-old Alfeni Romero-Taveras, of Allentown, has been charged in the June 1, 2024 killing of Angel Martinez-Velez in Fountain Park. Police say a witness has told them Romero-Taveras was the actual person who shot and killed Martinez-Velez. One of the other four charged has already been found guilty, another has pleaded guilty and two others are still awaiting trial.
Few details are known about why the bomb squad was called to a home in Bethlehem on Monday. The bomb squad was seen with other first responders at a residence on the 700 block of East Washington Avenue in the afternoon. Several nearby residences were evacuated for about two hours while authorities were at the scene. The investigation is ongoing.
The former human resources director of the City of Allentown is claiming he was wrongfully terminated. Nadeem Shahzad reportedly filed a lawsuit yesterday alleging he was forced out in 2023 because he refused a request by Mayor Matt Tuerk to fire an employee. Shahzad claims the employee brought up issues of racial discrimination and did not deserve to lose their job. The city has yet to comment on the lawsuit.
Two people are dead after a Monday morning crash on Route 222 in Berks County. The accident happened just before 11am in the area of the Kutztown Road overpass on Route 222 in Richmond Township. A 19-year-old woman and 19-month-old child were killed when their vehicle crossed the median and collided with an SUV. The driver of the SUV and a seven-year-old child were taken to the hospital with serious injuries. The crash is being investigated.
We're well behind on rainfall this year, but Accu-Weather's Joe Lundberg says we'll put a dent in that deficit in a little more than 24 hours. "One-to-two inches of rain is what to expect on average and that's going to start Wednesday night and last through most of Thursday before tapering off and ending," Lundberg says. With heavy rain and windy conditions, Lundberg says a lot of leaves will be falling and likely clogging storm drains and causing flooding problems.
Time is running out for anyone interested in applying for a mail-in or absentee ballot. Today marks the last day to submit your application. Applications must be submitted by 5 p.m. Election Day is November 4.
A man is seriously hurt after falling from the stands at PPG Paints Arena last night. The fall happened during the first period of the Penguins game against the Saint Louis Blues, around 7:15 p.m. Officials say the man suffered life-threatening injuries when he tumbled from the 200 level, hit a person on the suite level, and then landed on the 100 level. The person who was struck by the man was checked out by medics and declined to go to the hospital. Police are looking into the circumstances that led up to the fall. A worker who was setting up production equipment for the Sunday night Steelers game was also seriously hurt in a fall at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday.
New Jersey health officials are alerting the public that someone who visited the state may have been in the infectious state of measles. The person passed through Terminal B at Newark Liberty International Airport on Sunday, October 19th, between 2:15 and 5:30 in the afternoon. Anyone who was exposed may not develop symptoms until November 9th, but officials ask anyone who thinks they may have been exposed, or are feeling symptoms, to contact the health department. Since the beginning of this year, there have been ten confirmed cases of measles in New Jersey. Last year, there were seven cases in all.