Alternative Schools and Medical Liability

Pennsylvania Newsmakers this week highlights an important education program in the Harrisburg School District and a discussion of the medical liability crisis in the state. In the first part of the show, Dave Baker, Director of the William Penn alternative school program in the Harrisburg School District and Michael Reed, the program's Principal, describe the origins, purpose, successes, and challenges of the alternative school program. In the second portion of the program, two of the state's most prominent health care leaders outline the current status of medical liability reform. They focus on the crisis that doctors and hospitals face in obtaining insurance coverage, the difficulty of absorbing the nearly prohibitive costs of coverage, and the crisis in patient care because of doctors leaving the state and hospitals reducing some services. Carolyn Scanlon, President and CEO of the Hospital and Health System Association of Pennsylvania, and Dr. Howard Richter, President of the Pennsylvania Medical Society are the guests of host Terry Madonna.