SHAMOKIN - The City of Shamokin has turned to Northumberland County Court in its effort to keep private the individual cost of health benefits for elected officials.
A petition for review filed June 7 by the city's counsel, the Barley Snyder law firm, asks that a county judge overturn a ruling by an appeals officer of the state Office of Open Records that found the information is in the public domain.
It says the state agency made "several misstatements of fact and misapplied the pertinent legal analysis," and argues the city is a covered health care entity under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), making the requested information exempt.
The appeals officer concluded in a May 8 ruling that records sought by Northumberland County Commissioner Stephen Bridy apply specifically to the benefit costs and not to individually identifiable health information, and that redacted information outlining such would suffice. The officer also said the city is not a covered entity and not eligible for HIPPA exemptions as such.
Bridy and fellow Commissioner Vinny Clausi have sought the cost by individual or by family to provide health insurance to elected city officials. They also asked to be told which elected officials are enrolled and which are not, as well as being provided any eligibility policies related to elected officials who also qualify to receive Medicare.
Clausi made his attempts to retrieve the information four times late last year. All four requests were denied by City Clerk Steve Bartos, the city's open records officer, who said the city's health care provider and a representative of U.S. Health and Human Services supported his denial.
The commissioner appealed to the state, but it failed on a filing error.
Bridy's request for the exact same information came early this year. His lone request was denied and appealed, which was reviewed favorably by the state.
The commissioners have maintained that they are seeking the information on behalf of three city residents who fear retribution in making the requests themselves.
The city's latest legal filing alleges that the commissioners' requests are "politically motivated" and that they skirted filing procedure in their pursuit of information.
A response from the county has not yet been filed.