A Pennsylvania court – for the first time – rejected a Pennsylvania insurance regulator’s plan to liquidate two long-term care insurance companies.

Officials at a Pennsylvania hearing this week questioned how Highmark‘s $475 million acquisition of West Penn Allegheny Health System (WPAHS), a struggling hospital network, would affect its financial solvency and in-state competition.

The Pennsylvania Insurance Department approved the merger of Harleysville Mutual and Nationwide Mutual insurance companies with conditions designed to protect the Harleysville brand and its Pennsylvania operations for several years.

A New Jersey man surrendered his insurance license in Pennsylvania after regulators in that state found evidence he allowed a company prohibited from selling policies since 2006 to write coverage.

Highmark and the West Penn Allegheny Health System (WPAHS) agreed on a definitive partnership and selected an interim chief executive officer to oversee the implementation of the agreement.

Former Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Joel Ario is leaving his job with the Obama Administration developing a key component included in the federal health reform law.

The Philadelphia regional office of the Pennsylvania Insurance Department closes Aug. 5, in a move the agency says will complete its reorganization of its customer service bureau.

The Pennsylvania Insurance Department will hold three forums in August to gather public input on health insurance exchanges.

A Maine-based company had its Pennsylvania license revoked in May for using unlicensed agents to sell supplemental health insurance policies in Pennsylvania.

A Blandon, Pa., man who pleaded guilty to insurance fraud has had his Pennsylvania insurance license revoked.