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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Ken Smith |
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Smith votes for bill to create state agency to improve long-term care services
HARRISBURG, June 30 – State Rep. Ken Smith, D-Lackawanna, said he is pleased that a bill he co-sponsored and voted for passed the House of Representatives today. The bill would create a new state agency to help the elderly and people with disabilities obtain long-term care living services in Pennsylvania.
State Rep. Phyllis Mundy, D-Luzerne, is prime sponsor of the legislation (H.B. 1152).
Smith said the new cabinet-level state agency would merge the Pennsylvania Department of Aging and the state's Office of Long-Term Living, which currently operates under the Department of Public Welfare, to oversee an extensive network of state-supported long-term living programs and services. The new department would be known as the Department of Aging and Long-Term Living.
"Many Pennsylvania citizens have a need for long-term care services, and this legislation would help to make those services more accessible to them," Smith said. "The new department would address services such as in-home care options, nursing home screening programs and special services for caregivers."
In addition, Smith said, the new department would also manage the PACE and PACENET senior prescription programs, oversee protective services programs, prepare the State Plan on Aging as required by federal law, and develop an annual budget.
Smith is a member of the House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee.
The bill is now being considered in the Senate.