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Pennsylvania State Senate
05/12/2024 07:19 AM
Pennsylvania State Senate
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=S&SPick=20230&cosponId=41496
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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

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Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2023 - 2024 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: September 27, 2023 04:38 PM
From: Senator Christine M. Tartaglione
To: All Senate members
Subject: Study of Staffing Trends for Home and Community-Based Services
 
In the near future, I plan to introduce a resolution that authorizes the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to conduct a study on the effect of workforce shortages on State supported Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waiver programs, Pennsylvania Lottery funded area agency on aging programs, and Act 150 attendant care services.

It is important for legislators and the public to know the impact of the pandemic on the staffing needs of HCBS providers in Pennsylvania. Specifically, the study will examine wage rates for home health aides, direct care workers, direct support professionals, older adult daily living center providers, and community-based mental health providers in the HCBS system; as well as the rates charged by contract staffing agencies to provide HCBS workers. It will also look at the increase in wages from 2018 through today (using the latest available figures), as well as the level of care required by HCBS recipients over the same time period. The changes in wages will be measured against the inflation rate. The study will also examine the effect of current reimbursement rates and funding for area agency on aging programs on the overall recruitment and retention of the HCBS workforce and determine the level of funding needed to ensure a qualified and sustainable workforce.
 
The study is to be completed within twelve months and submitted to the General Assembly.

Representatives Kim and Cerrato have introduced a similar resolution in the House of Representatives.

Please consider co-sponsoring this resolution, which will give us a clear picture of how the pandemic has affected the staffing needs of our home and community-based services, and the cost of providing care to some of our Commonwealth’s most vulnerable citizens.
 


Introduced as SR194