A Philadelphia lawyer was looking for information about prescription drug reimbursements in the state Medicaid program going back 18 years.
The agency figured it would take a team of 11 people a year to dig it all up.
"That's not the whole commonwealth work force, but that's a lot," said Barbara Adams, general counsel to Gov. Ed Rendell. "And a whole year is beyond the time frames that are permitted."
The lawyer, Stephen A. Loney Jr., later withdrew that request, and isn't commenting about it or the legal battle over a more narrow version he later filed. But Adams said his requests reflect some of the many issues that have arisen during the first year under Pennsylvania's revised Right-to-Know Law, which may soon be amended.
Should taxpayers have to foot a part of the cost of massive requests? How does the law work when the records are also integral to an ongoing lawsuit? Should the government be able to cancel a request it deems to be a practical impossibility?
