Pa. insurer-merger hearings focus on competition

Philadelphia Inquirer, The, July, 2008 by Jane M. Von Bergen Inquirer Staff Writer

PITTSBURGH - When Carrie Schuck's father died 11 years ago, Schuck, now a 21-year-old college senior, couldn't find anyone who could relate to a 10-year-old's sense of loss and instability. "Even my teachers didn't understand," she said, her voice shaking, describing the isolation she felt when her classmates made cards for Father's Day.

But a children's grief-counseling program sponsored by Highmark Inc., Pittsburgh's predominant health insurer, helped her deal with her loss. It is no surprise that in Pittsburgh, home town of Highmark Inc., with its syringe-like building dominating the skyline, witnesses like Carrie Schuck came to praise Highmark's civic engagement yesterday during the first of three public hearings held by the Pennsylvania Insurance Department on the...