Pennsylvania health care cost containment council employees let go after program authorization lapses

Nearly the entire staff of the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council has been let go due to a political disagreement between Gov. Ed Rendell (D) and state Senate Republicans over whether a bill to reauthorize the council should also include an extension of a malpractice insurance subsidy for physicians, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports (Goldstein, Philadelphia Inquirer, 7/2).

Council spokesperson Joe Martin said 38 of the 43 council employees were informed Monday afternoon that they had been terminated, leaving five members to stay on until the close of business Thursday. A letter sent to the terminated employees states, "The General Assembly has yet to enact legislation for the reauthorization," and without that legislation, the council "has no statutory basis to perform work. Therefore, your services are no longer authorized" (Fahy/Barnes, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 7/2).

The state Senate on Saturday passed a bill to reauthorize the council after adding language to extend a malpractice subsidy, called the MCARE abatement program. Rendell threatened to veto the Senate bill. Rendell has said he will not extend MCARE until the Legislature passes a bill to provide affordable health care to more than 800,000 uninsured state residents. Rendell spokesperson Chuck Ardo said, "The governor would be more than willing to sign a clean bill if one were to reach his desk" (Philadelphia Inquirer, 7/2).

Erik Arneson, spokesperson for state Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R), called the termination of council employees "a political stunt" on the part of the Rendell administration. "There is no legal requirement to take this action," he said, adding that the council remained open during 2003 when its authorization expired while lawmakers worked on an agreement (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 7/2).

The health coverage debate is expected to resume in September (Scolforo, AP/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 7/1).