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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
| State Rep. Lawrence Curry |
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Curry: GOP spending plan is a losing proposition for seniors
HARRISBURG, June 5 – State Rep. Lawrence Curry, Democratic chairman of the House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee, released the following statement on S.B. 1466, the 2012-13 budget bill considered by the House today:
"Senate Bill 1466 undoes all the strides we've made to provide frail seniors with the home-based services they need to delay, or even avoid, admission to a long-term care facility. The drastic cuts to home and community-based service programs in S.B. 1466 will force seniors into nursing homes because they won't be able to get the help they need to age in their own homes. These cuts will also force home-care providers to lay off staff, reduce services or close up shop altogether.
"This bill sets the stage for higher property taxes as it underfunds education. Seniors on fixed incomes will be hardest hit by higher tax bills.
"I cannot, in good conscience, support a state budget that leaves $300 million on the table, and robs from the state Lottery Fund -- that was established to provide services for older Pennsylvanians -- to pay for General Fund spending, and is balanced on the backs of our frailest citizens," said Curry, D-Montgomery/Phila.
Budget cuts that will harm senior citizens include:
- PennCare cut by $600,000
- PennCare is a block grant contract with area agencies on aging to provide services that help frail seniors delay or avoid institutionalization.
- House Democrats on the Appropriations Committee attempted to use $2.2 million from the Lottery Fund to restore PennCare funding to the fiscal year 2010-11 level but the attempt was blocked by political maneuvering by the Republican chairman.
- Aging Waiver cut by $3 million
- The Aging Waiver is delivering cost-effective home-based services to over 19,000 seniors.
- Home-based care for seniors costs about $1,700 per month. Meanwhile, a skilled nursing facility costs approximately $58,000 per person per year.
- 10 percent cut for county-provided human services
- Corbett proposed putting various county-run human services, including those that allow seniors to remain independent, into a single block grant, and then cut the overall funding by 20 percent. Senate Bill 1466 would cut the funding by 10 percent.
- Counties would be given flexibility to decide where to spend their funds, but this would result in pitting one human service against another for a slice of the budget pie.
- Continuation of the $1 billion cuts made in education for the current school year.
- This failure would continue to drive up property taxes for senior homeowners because local school districts would have to find a replacement funding source for the missing state funding.