Powerful Republican Who Voted Against Formulary Took Money From Pond Lehocky, Report Shows

Monday, May 7, 2018 | 0

One of Pennsylvania's most powerful Republican lawmakers acknowledged this week that he had accepted about $1,600 from Pond Lehocky, a prominent workers' compensation law firm that led the charge against a formulary bill this year.

Rep. John Taylor

The bill, SB 936, was favored by Republicans, business groups and insurance companies, and narrowly passed the General Assembly last month before it was vetoed by Gov. Tom Wolf.

Besides a formulary that would have restricted opioid prescribing and expensive compounding creams for injured workers, the measure would have given insurers more control over utilization review organizations, allowing more second-guessing of the doctor-patient relationship, opponents said.

One of those opponents was Samuel Pond, whose firm once owned a compounding pharmacy. The firm in 2017 paid state Rep. John Taylor a $1,600 referral fee, according to Taylor's income statement as reported by the Philadelphia newspapers' website, Philly.com. Taylor was one of the few Republicans to vote against SB 936.

Taylor told the news site that despite the payment, his vote against the bill was not a conflict of interest because "I am a member of a class of people similarly situated (lawyers who deal with workman’s compensation issues) that it may effect. Plus, it affected every workman’s comp claimant in the state.”

Taylor is retiring from the legislature this year after 17 terms, the newspaper reported.