Federal Appeals Court Reverses Lower Court Decision

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A federal appeals court is reversing lower court decisions that had blocked Pennsylvania from siphoning cash from a state-chartered medical malpractice insurer of last resort. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday against the Pennsylvania Professional Liability Joint Underwriting Association. It says state government created the insurer and holds the only interest in it. The decision came seven years after the underwriting association first sued the state. For three years, from 2017 to 2019, state lawmakers and then-Gov. Tom Wolf had sought at least $200 million from the association to help plug a deficit in the state’s operating budget. The association can appeal.