by KYW's Tony Romeo

A battle over health insurance coverage and a malpractice insurance subsidy for doctors has resulted in the shutdown of a state agency that monitors the cost and quality of health care in Pennsylvania (see related story).

The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council has gone out of business, at least temporarily, because the state Senate has linked the agency’s reauthorization to the extension of a state malpractice insurance subsidy for doctors. But Governor Rendell has linked the so-called ''Mcare'' subsidy to his proposal to expand health insurance for adults, and on Wednesday, he stood his ground:

“Unless there’s health care for at least a good portion of the 700,000 Pennsylvanians who don’t have it, unless we do something about the fact that someone who’s sick can’t get health care coverage at a reasonable rate, unless we do that, then we’re not going to have Mcare this year.”

And, as it stands now, that means the Health Care Cost Containment Council is kaput. The governor said he’s trying to place the agency’s employees in other state jobs so they can return if it is reauthorized (see related story).