PathWays PA Policy Blog

Governor Wolf presented his sixth budget today with a focus on education, supporting workers and the workforce, and reducing gun violence. Overall, the budget increases spending to $36 billion compared to last year. Governor Wolf also proposed a higher minimum wage (as he did last year), raising the current rate of $7.25/hour to $12/hour by July and then increasing the wage over time until it reaches $15 in 2026. The last time the minimum wage increased in Pennsylvania was when the federal government increased the wage in 2009. Here are some of the articles we've been reading on the budget: Highlights of the proposed 2020-21 Pennsylvania budget Pa. Governor’s Budget Pushes for Addressing Asbestos in Schools, College Debt Aid Pa. budget: Another year of flat funding for public libraries lands them in ‘Loser’ list Governor Wolf Urges Legislature to Tackle Gun Violence, Student Debt, Toxic Schools Click here for large version Click here to view larger version

Last week, the federal government announced a proposed change to the Health Care Rights Law (part of the Affordable Care Act) that would overturn healthcare protections for transgender people. Under the rule change, gender identity would no longer be protected by federal laws preventing discrimination in health care. Requirements that insurers give notice of a patient's rights to translation services would also be eliminated. According to the ACLU , the new rule would also remove "termination of pregnancy" as a reason to make a legal claim of sex discrimination in health care. Both the specific protections for transgender people and termination of pregnancy have been the subject of lawsuits and were stopped under federal injunction. While there are other protections for transgender people in the ACA , repealing this part of the law could lead to further rollbacks later. Take Action: The Protect Trans Health Campaign has a link to submit a comment to the Dep...

We're heading into another budget season - time to break out the spreadsheets and charts! Governor Wolf presented his budget today with a focus on education and jobs, with what both sides described as a bipartisan outlook  or at the very least places where both parties could find agreement . Overall, the budget increases spending by 4.2% (or $1.4 billion) compared to last year. Nearly $300 million would go towards increased education spending for K-12, special education, and state universities. Governor Wolf also proposed a higher minimum wage, raising the current rate of $7.25/hour to $12/hour by July and then increasing the wage over time until it reaches $15 in 2025. The last time the minimum wage increased in Pennsylvania was when the federal government increased the wage in 2009. Here are some of the articles we've been reading on the budget: Schools, farms and voting machines in Gov. Tom Wolf's budget sights Gov. Wolf unveils budget: more money for public ...

While the Senate chose to skip its usual August recess this year, the House is at home with its constituents - you. Why not take the time to meet with your legislators and tell them what you are thinking about? If you're not sure how to go about setting up a meeting (or what to do once you're there), check out our information below. Decide what you want to meet about: There's so many issues to discuss right now - healthcare ,  DACA , domestic violence and the Violence Against Women Act, paid family leave and the FAMILY Act , payday lending .... Think about what matters to you, and do a little research to learn more until you feel comfortable talking about it. Set up the meeting: Prosperity Now put together a great tool for setting up recess meetings, including a sample email and information on how to contact the scheduler in your legislator's office.  If you're uncomfortable with this format, you can make it simple - find your member of Congress here , a...

Our action items often focus on calling or contacting your legislators, but that's not the only way your voice can be heard. Another way to share your opinion and make a difference is through public comment. Public comment periods give people the chance to articulate their opinions on proposed rules or laws and to offer advice on how they could be changed. You may speak up at a local town council meeting to discuss a proposed park in your neighborhood, or you might submit an electronic comment to show how a proposed rule would affect your life. Taking part in a public comment period is an effective way to ensure legislation is implemented in a way that helps everyone affected. Your thoughts go directly to people making the rules, and those thoughts shape the final version of the law. We have three ways to take action through public comment this week - on Overtime , Census 2020 , Title X . Take a look and see what is interesting to you! Overtime The Pennsylvania Department ...

With so much happening, here are some short takes on today's news: Families Belong Together : Despite a court order for reunification by July 10, nearly half of the children under 5 remain without their parents. Over 50 children are expected to be reunited today, with others in limbo as lawyers work to clear parents to take custody or to find parents no longer in custody - some of whom have been deported without their children .  Take Action : You can continue to call legislators and support organizations helping families in need. For further information, read our blog post from a few weeks ago.  Shut Down Berks is holding a vigil on Sunday to Shut Down the Berks County Family Detention Center. Check out the link to learn more . SCOTUS : Last night, the President announced his nominee for the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh. Judge Kavanaugh currently serves on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Take Action : You can read more about Judge Kavana...

There were few surprises in this year's Pennsylvania budget (other than the fact that it finished up early). We've compiled our usual list below of line items affecting low-income families and the people we serve. To see the full budget, visit the PA Office of the Budget . As you can see below, most line items that we follow stayed level or increased in funding. While the Governor's budget "zeroed out" (removed funding) from a few, all programs that we watch regained their funding in the legislature.

Last week, President Trump released his plans for the 2019 federal budget. It includes cuts to SNAP, Medicaid, and energy assistance along with the elimination of funding for public broadcasting and loan forgiveness for students who enter public service. Here's a more in-depth look at some items: Healthcare: The budget cuts Medicaid and subsidies for the health insurance marketplace by $763 billion over 10 years. It also embraces the Graham-Cassidy proposal to eliminate the ACA and replace it with a block grant to states. The block grants would be less than what states receive currently to assist families with healthcare, leaving them with additional, unfunded costs. Housing: Under this budget, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) would see a cut of $8.8 billion . Rental assistance programs are among those that would see cuts, while LIHEAP would be completely eliminated . Nutrition: Perhaps the most talked about cuts so far are those made to nutrition progra...

Click here to enlarge This afternoon, Governor Wolf announced the 2018-2019 budget, along with some of his policy initiatives for the year. In his budget speech , he proposed an additional $125 million for K-12 education and a new program, called Community Health Choices, designed to help seniors receive care in their communities instead of in facilities. The budget summary  also calls for an increase in the minimum wage, modernization of the Equal Pay law, and the passage of a statewide paid sick days bill. The chart pictured here shows selected line items from the Governor's budget. Basic Education, Pre-K Counts, and the Children's Health Insurance Program are among the programs set to get an increase, while Adult and Family Literacy and County Assistance Offices see a slight decrease in funding. A number of programs, including Mobile Science and Math Education, Job Training and Special Education, Regional Cancer Institutes, ALS Support Services, and the New Choices/Ne...

Congress is once again looking at ways to change or overturn the ACA. The latest vehicle is the Cassidy-Graham Plan, which we first reported on in July as a proposed amendment to other repeal attempts . Cassidy-Graham would make many of the changes that earlier ACA overhaul promised. Medicaid Expansion, which covers 11 million low-income adults, would end under the legislation. ACA subsidies for low-income people would also be eliminated. In their place, states would receive block grants to cover people who use Medicaid Expansion and subsidies. The plan changes how much money each state would receive, which means states with higher needs may not get enough funding. The total amount of block grants given would be 17% lower than current spending. By 2026, block grants would end, leaving states to determine how to cover people without any funding to do so. At the same time, Cassidy-Graham calls for a per capita cap on Medicaid spending, leaving states on the hook for any higher cost...

From our friends at PCCY Give Kids Sight Day takes place Saturday, October 21, 2017 for children 17 years and under to receive free eye care and eyeglasses. Please help us spread the word! This free event takes place from 8:30am – 1:00pm at Jefferson Alumni Hall. The event is open to all children from Philadelphia and surrounding counties and is geared towards kids who did not have or did not pass an eye screening this year. No health insurance? No problem! All children are welcome. Walk-ins only, no appointment is needed! We do suggest families arrive early. Please help us spread the word by sharing this email and/or Sight Day flyers with families in your community and passing them along to colleagues, partnering organizations, school nurses, classrooms, businesses and other interested parties. You can also print the flyer and put it on community bulletin boards, store windows and other key spots. This flyer is translated into Spanish, Chinese, Indonesian, Vietnamese, French,...

From our friends at PHAN Today is a statewide Day of Action to defeat House Bill 59, a sneak attack on Medicaid that would impose harmful work requirements meant to reduce enrollment and cut necessary benefits . We need your help today to get the message out. Please use this social media cheat sheet on how to participate today as well as a series of social media-friendly graphics to illustrate the point. Feel free to share them widely and to encourage your followers to post our " I Oppose HB 59 " badge and call their legislators today. We'll be posting Facebook and Twitter content today to raise awareness about the harms of HB 59. Help amplify the message by retweeting our posts or share your own content using the hashtags #HB59, #MedicaidWorks, and #CareNotRedTape.

Last week, it seemed as though the Senate Healthcare Bill was stopped in it's entirety. The Bill did not have enough votes to pass and Sen. McConnell's attempts to pass a repeal-only Bill forward were shut down, so it seemed as though the Affordable Care Act was safe for the time being. However, we are now hearing that there is a possibility of the Bill being revived and voted on once again this week. A CBO analysis showed the statistics behind the revised Senate Healthcare Bill - 22 million Americans would be kicked off of their insurance should it pass. This number was found before taking into account the "Cruz Amendment" which would allow insurance companies to offer less comprehensive insurance. Both repealing and replacing the ACA in this form (causing 22 million Americans to lose coverage) or repealing without replacing  (causing 32 million Americans to lose coverage), are unacceptable options.  Take advantage of this opportunity to call your senators at 866...

Update 1:13 PM EST - Three Republican senators have already stated they will not support any outright repeal of the ACA without a replacement in place, making it unlikely that repeal will happen anytime soon. Last night, the latest effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act appeared to collapse when two Republican senators joined the ranks of those unable to vote yes on the bill. There are not enough votes to pass the bill, or even bring it up for debate. So what comes next? Senator Mitch McConnell has now called for a vote to repeal the ACA without replacing it. According to the Senator, the repeal would not actually take effect for two years . A look at ACA repeal by the independent Congressional Budget Office (CBO) in January 2017 found that repeal legislation, by 2026, would: lead to 32 million people losing coverage double insurance premiums leave 75% of Americans without access to the individual market You can read an article from FiveThirtyEight.com here t...

With thanks to our friends at PCCY As we have previously mentioned on this blog, the Senate has recently released their upcoming Health Care Bill. The bill was not voted on, but the details are now available to the public. The Senate is currently in recess for this week which makes this an ideal time to be vocal about the effect the bill will have. Whether it is to family, friends, the public or directly to your legislators, this is a great opportunity to educate and inform about the implications of the bill. The Senate bill currently retains caps on Medicaid which would harm millions of children, seniors and individuals who are disabled. Below are ways that you can continue to be active around the Senate Health Care Bill, including daily actions you can do and upcoming events you participate in. Things you can do every day this week: Call Senator Casey and Senator Toomey and ask them to reject the Senate bill. Tell them how it would affect your child and/or cause millions of A...

**UPDATE**  - The Congressional Budget Office released its scoring of the bill, showing that 22 million more people would become uninsured under the program. On June 23rd, Senate Republicans revealed their plan for a new Health Care bill that will act as a replacement for the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). With information on the bill now available to the public, it is important to check to see how your coverage will be affected by the American Health Care Act (AHCA) and how the new bill compares to the Affordable Care Act. Below, a table has been attached to show how coverage for different groups was affected by the Affordable Care Act and how things will change should the AHCA be passed through Congress. Information used in the table regarding the AHCA was found at NPR.org, click here for more detailed information . Make sure to have your voice be heard by reaching out to your Senators and telling them how you feel they should vote on the upcoming bill. Call se...

Every time my soon-to-be 3 year old son hears sirens - police, fire, ambulance - he starts yelling "Emergency! It's an emergency!" And if you're not saying the same thing about the Senate healthcare bill, you probably should be. After negotiating for over a month behind the scenes, the Senate healthcare bill is ready to see the light of day. And, despite saying that the House healthcare bill was "dead on arrival " in the Senate, they've done a pretty good job of resuscitating it. (See a chart from NPR here  comparing the ACA, the AHCA, and the new Better Care Reconciliation Act.) Medicaid: Medicaid is the largest government health program in the country. It covers about half of all births in the US, and provides insurance to nearly 40% of all children . Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare), states could choose to expand Medicaid to more low-income families. The House version of the American Healthcare Act (AHCA) would roll back that...

UPDATE 4/27/17 - Some reports are making the rounds that a vote could be held in the House as early as Friday or Saturday of this week. If you have thoughts on the bill, now is a good time to weigh in. On Capitol Hill today, members of the Freedom Caucus announced their support for the latest version of healthcare reform. An amendment drafted by Rep. Tom MacArthur of NJ would let states opt out of certain ACA provisions. The waivers primarily affect current protections for people with preexisting conditions, a term that covered everything from allergies to cancer. House Majority Leader Ryan says that even with Freedom Caucus support, he is not prepared to hold a vote until the bill has enough support to pass. For more on repeal and replace, check out our blog from a few weeks ago. And, if you want to share your thoughts on the law, call your Representative. Visit http://whoismyrepresentative.com to find contact information for your Representative and make a call today.

We published our first blog post on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on August 17, 2009 . Now, almost eight years later, the House of Representatives is set to vote on legislation that would repeal and replace the ACA with a new law - the American Health Care Act (AHCA). Here's what we know about the AHCA: It would make comprehensive changes to Medicaid : Additional money to states (such as Pennsylvania) that accepted Medicaid Expansion, which allows more people to get their insurance through Medicaid, would end. The entire funding mechanism for Medicaid would change, with states receiving a capped amount of funding regardless of how many people qualify for the program. Recent reports indicate that states may be able to impose a work requirement on "able-bodied individuals" applying for or using Medicaid. Under the AHCA, Medicaid could no longer be used at Planned Parenthood clinics. These clinics provide birth control, mammograms, and other types of reproductive care ...