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1. How lawsuit abuse is killing healthcare in Pennsylvania

By Seth Higgins
 

Since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, Pennsylvania has been rocked by hospital closures, reductions in healthcare services, and a steady stream of news about hospital systems’ shaky financial positions. The causes of this are many, but a decline in pandemic related federal funding for hospitals — coupled with inflationary pressures and labor shortages — are commonly cited factors.

The seemingly endless waves of bad news cause our political debates around healthcare to take one of two forms. Either both sides of our political divide blame one another for the state of healthcare while offering few actionable solutions, or people simply resign themselves to the view that healthcare policy is a hopeless morass.

However, there are two policy options at Pennsylvania’s disposal that can improve healthcare affordability and accessibility: tort reform and the elimination of lawsuit venue shopping. These policies should enjoy bipartisan appeal, but as we’ll see, it isn’t so simple.

Why It Matters. When someone sues a doctor for medical malpractice, he can seek economic damages, such as lost wages, medical expenses, and lost earning potential; and non-economic damages, which can include difficult to quantify losses such as pain and suffering. Pennsylvania is one of about fifteen states without a limit on non-economic damages.

This means one lawsuit can result in a claim massive enough to economically cripple a doctor or entire hospital system.

The next ingredient in this deadly arrangement is the ability for trial lawyers to venue shop. This change occurred in 2022 when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a ruling that overturned two decades of precedent. It all adds up to some of the fastest-rising medical malpractice premiums in the country.

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2. Our school board elections are flawed and antiquated

By Beth Ann Rosica
 

The concept of nonpartisan school board elections is noble, but Pennsylvania’s system is defective.

As voters go to the polls today to cast a ballot in the primary election, it is not only possible, but quite likely, the same school board candidates will appear on both the Republican and Democratic ballot.

How is this possible in a primary election where each party is attempting to nominate a candidate to run in the November general election?

Under the guise that school board directors should be “nonpartisan,” our commonwealth created a system that is convoluted and often manipulated. This confusing practice is also one of a kind — Pennsylvania is the only state in the country that does things this way.

Why It Matters.  While this might be an advantage for candidates, it creates mass confusion for voters. An informed voter will likely do some research about the candidates on their ballot or rely on the party sample ballot to make a final decision. However, with more people using mail-in ballots, the average voter may not understand the background or policies of the various candidates on their ballot. 

Typically, in a primary, voters might assume, rightfully so, that every candidate is a member of their political party — but for school boards, this is not the case.

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3. Lightning Round

• Former St. Joe’s prof homes in on student newspaper in lawsuit, says ‘Hawk’ article fueled firing

• Elizabeth Stelle: Pennsylvania needs genuine election integrity reform

• Stu Bykofsky: Nice guys often finish last in politics

• Thom Nickels: Traveling in Romania in the shadow of the past

• Pennsylvania taxes more than other states for gas, gives drivers worse roads

• Paul Davis: The Navy Yard — past, present, and future

• Stephen Eustis: Why Pennsylvania needs autism training for police

• Tim O’Neal: Unleash Pennsylvania’s energy potential by fixing this tax code mistake

4. What we're reading

As we were last week, we’ve spent much of this week reading the now-it-can-be-told tale of former President Joe Biden’s incapacity in office and the conspiracy among his staffers and some media people to conceal it. Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s book on the subject is out and if you don’t want to read that, there are reviews and takes aplenty. 

Some of these raise some serious questions, especially in light of the sad news this week that Biden has stage 4 prostate cancer, which has spread to his bones. Should we trust his people’s story on this? Many oncologists are doubtful. It seems petty, at this point, to challenge it, but it’s also a good test for the mainstream media and whether they’ve actually learned anything from the past four years.