Battle May Be Lost, but War Is NOT Over for Mcare Fund

Thanks to physicians’ outcry, PA legislators know they’ll be held accountable for unconstitutional taking of Mcare Fund monies

On Friday, Oct. 9, the 101^st day of the state budget battle, the state House and Senate approved and Gov. Ed Rendell signed the revenue package and the fiscal code measure that completed the state budget.

A key element of this budget is the transfer of $100 million in physicians’ premium dollars from the Mcare Fund. The Pennsylvania Medical Society and its membership have argued that these are not tax dollars, but premiums in the form of assessments that physicians have paid and thus should not be diverted for any other purpose.

During last week’s budget debate, every legislator was made aware that the raid was wrong, thanks to the outcry of Pennsylvania physicians. 

State Society President Daniel J. Glunk, MD, said, “We were gratified by the unprecedented outpouring of calls and emails from our members to legislators. Now, we need to pick up our phones and thank those courageous lawmakers who voted to support our challenge to the Mcare Fund raid. As for those who voted to raid the Mcare Fund, we will let them know that sacrificing our patients’ health care to balance the state budget is unacceptable. Their vote against us has violated a trust and will have far reaching consequences.”

For more than two weeks, the core group of legislators involved in budget negotiations reported being flooded almost daily with an unprecedented number of calls and emails from physicians opposing the Mcare Fund raid.

Even so, a vote challenging the constitutionality of the raid fell just short.

The afternoon of Oct. 8, during debate pending a vote on a fiscal code bill authorizing the Mcare Fund raid, the group of legislators challenged the constitutionality of this legislative maneuver. They read a letter from State Society President Daniel J. Glunk, MD, on the floor of the General Assembly. Reps. Curt Schroder, Matt Baker, and Brian Cutler made it clear that they believed the raid to be unconstitutional and morally wrong, amounting to nothing more than a tax on physicians and patients. The vote: 99-98.

The budget also takes $700 million from the Health Care Provider Retention Account that was originally intended to provide subsidized medical liability insurance coverage for physicians. The Medical Society is analyzing other changes that redirect recurring funds into the general fund.

The Pennsylvania Medical Society, along with The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, have already filed the appropriate legal actions to challenge the constitutionality of the raid on Mcare Funds.

Last Updated: 10/13/2009