Judge blocks Pennsylvania’s demand for $200M from insurer
U.S. District Judge
Conner has not scheduled a trial date on the association's
Democratic Gov.
In his decision Wednesday, Conner poured cold water on claims that the association's reserves belong to the state.
For instance, state lawyers argued that the association's governing plan establishes that the money ultimately belongs to the state if it shuts down. But Conner wrote that that argument "misinterprets" the plan's wording that says the association's board will decide how to distribute its assets, subject to the approval of the state insurance commissioner, who is appointed by the governor.
Conner also found that the association would be saddled with irreparable harm, such as an estimated
Wolf and lawmakers had sought the cash from the association to help stabilize the state's deficit-ridden finances and set the deadline in legislation signed last month by Wolf. In court filings, the
However, the association has said in court papers that its reserves were generated from premiums and investment income and that taxpayer money has never funded any of the association's operations. The state has no right to the money and no regulator, such as the state insurance commissioner, has deemed the association's reserves to be excessive, it said.
Permanently blocking the state's demand presumably would blow a
The association, created by the state in 1975 amid a medical malpractice crisis, provides coverage to more than 600 health care providers.
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