This article was posted on how 88,071 children have lost Medicaid benefits due to bureaucratic backlog at the Department of Public Welfare with an increase in December (possibly when employees go on vacation for the holidays).
Total Change %
August 1,161,135
September 1,143,169 - 17,966 - 1.5%
October 1,130,300 - 12,869 - 1.1%
November 1,117,728 - 12,572 - 1.1%
December 1,073,064 - 44,664 - 4%
Change over four months: - 88,071 - 7.6% These benefits should eventually be restored as Medicaid is still a federal entitlement program. The conditions for employees at the PA Department of Public Welfare (DPW) have gotten worse in recent decades with staff reductions and caseloads increasing. There were rumors of a strike in 2003 when I was an employee there when Rendell was newly inaugurated as governor. The state budget was $40 billion then it is $27 billion now. Data for adults is harder to come by according to the article but it is just as important. It is a trick to starve social programs and then to argue that "see social programs don't work."
**Related Post**
The already overworked DPW is going to have to take on an additional job in May. The Corbett administration will deny food stamps to anyone with more than $2000 in assets. DPW will be responsible for administering these asset tests. See:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thinkingslowlyblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/policy-by-anecdote.html