Hits & Misses
HIT: There’s a right way and a wrong way to do pretty much everything, and when it came to announcing his plans to retire, Canonsburg area District Judge David Mark did it the right way. Mark announced last week that he intends to retire, and shift to senior judge status, when his current term expires shortly after the new year begins. Mark said the timing of his announcement was designed to give those who might be interested in his post sufficient time to mount a campaign and get on the primary ballot. That stands in sharp contrast to the route taken two years ago by former Peters Township area District Judge James Ellis, who waited until the final hours of the final day when nominating petitions could be filed to announce he would not seek re-election, leading to only one candidate ultimately appearing on the primary ballot. Kudos to Mark for taking the path of openness and fairness, and thinking of others who might have an interest in the job.
HIT: Breakups can be nasty, and few have been nastier than the split between UPMC and Highmark, the region’s two biggest health care providers. As of July 1, a 5-year-old consent decree that allowed consumers to have access to physicians and hospitals across the two networks will expire. What will this mean? If you have Highmark insurance, let’s say, you will not be able to see a doctor affiliated with UPMC. Attorney General Josh Shapiro has stepped into the fray, filing suit in Commonwealth Court against UPMC. Shapiro argues that UPMC is not following through on its obligations as a public charity in not accepting patients with Highmark insurance. Shapiro wants the consent decree to be modified in such a way that UPMC will have to take Highmark and all other out-of-network customers permanently. We hope Shapiro prevails. If UPMC wants the charitable designation, it should behave in a more charitable fashion.
MISS: The hierarchy of the Catholic Church has been deservedly lambasted for its handling of hundreds of cases of sexual abuse by its priests, and it appears that it was not the only denomination in this country attempting to sweep widespread wrongdoing under the rug. In a joint investigation, the San Antonio Express-News and The Houston Chronicle found that hundreds of volunteers and leaders within the Southern Baptist Convention have been accused of sexual misconduct over the last 20 years, and that, in many instances, the people they turned to for help within the denomination shrugged off their stories. Perhaps it’s time for states to launch investigations of the Southern Baptist Convention, just as they have done with the Catholic Church.