The plan approved by the House last month would slash $471 million from Corbett's proposed budget for the Department of Public Welfare. Legislators vow to trim welfare "waste, fraud and abuse." They say it's necessary after the loss of $1.7 billion in federal stimulus funds to DPW.
The proposed welfare cuts have been all but overlooked amid the outcry over school aid. But advocates for the poor say the House GOP proposal, which includes $280 million in Medicaid cuts, will hurt citizens who depend on state help for survival.
The cuts would amount to ending Medicaid coverage for 100,000 Pennsylvanians, says Sharon Ward, executive director of the liberal-leaning Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center.
Her interpretation doesn't jibe with calculations made by Republicans, who foresee far less dire effects, says Mike Stoll, House Appropriations Committee spokesman.
Still, the Medicaid cuts could have far-reaching consequences - triggering a loss of up to $425 million in federal matching funds, according to an analysis by Mike Wood, research director of the policy center.
Medicaid provides health coverage for 2.3 million low-income, elderly, and disabled Pennsylvanians. Fifty percent are under 18.
The House plan would also cut about $37 million in cash grants - welfare - to the poorest Pennsylvanians, and $38 million from programs that help low-income people afford child care while they work, or train for work, so they can get off welfare.
Wary of the cuts' impact, seven Philadelphia-area Democratic legislators sent a letter last week to express "deep concern" to Gary Alexander, acting secretary of DPW. They said proposed changes to the welfare-to-work program may "make it more difficult for low-income Pennsylvanian families to find jobs on their own. ..."
A spokesman for Alexander said the acting secretary had no comment on the letter or on DPW's budget.
