Department of Aging Threatened By Merger Proposal
When you buy your next Pennsylvania lottery ticket you might notice the message that the funds raised by the lottery benefit aging services in Pennsylvania. “Does it really?” I’ve been asked. Yes, really and one of the beneficiaries of the lottery fund is a State agency that for the past almost forty years has provided services for senior citizens throughout Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, that agency, the Pennsylvania Department of Aging, may be on the chopping block as part of a consolidation proposal proposed by Governor Wolf. Under the proposal, four Pennsylvania agencies, the current Departments of Aging, Drug and Alcohol Programs, Health, and Human Services would be combined into a superagency Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The proposal is being considered by the State legislature and citizen input would be helpful.
What makes the current Department of Aging unique is that, although it is small, it has powerful effect. With only 117 employees the agency coordinates funds for a broad range of programs and services that benefit older (age 60 and over) Pennsylvanians and their families and caregivers. Many of these programs are administered through Pennsylvania’s local Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) which provide a link between State government and local participation. In Chester County think of the Chester County Department of Aging Services. In Delaware County, think COSA. About 2/3 of the Pa. Department of Aging funding to local AAA’s comes from the Pennsylvania lottery.
Beneficiaries of the current system include Senior Centers and low cost meals, PACE and PACEnet for prescription assistance, transportation, property tax and rent rebates, home and community based services, education and outreach and protective services (from abuse). This has given senior citizens a direct voice in the types of programs and policies (other than Medicaid) that affect them on a local level.
The rationale expressed for combining the State Department of Aging with other departments is to eliminate duplication and provide one door for entry into needed services. The concern regarding the merger comes from several sources including the PA Association of Area Agencies on Aging (P4A), the Center for Advocacy for the Rights and Interests of the Elderly (CARIE), the Southwestern Pennsylvania Partnership for Aging, and the Pennsylvania Association of Elder Law Attorneys, the last of which I have been a member for several years now.
Combining the PA Department of Aging with the other Departments named would be like the minnow being swallowed by the whale. (Those who follow the continuing tale of “Finding Nemo” might identify.) This is why.
According to reported sources, the PA Department of Human Services currently has approximately 17,000 employees. The PA Department of Health has over 1,200. The Department of Drug and Alcohol Services has 93.
<Note that for this and several other portions of this article, credit must be given to my colleague with PAELA, Jeffrey Marshall, Esq. and his excellent article “Concerns Raised about Aging Department Consolidation” April 24, 2017, http://marshallelder.blogspot.com.>
“Loss of a cabinet level voice advocating for seniors. Since 1978 Pennsylvania seniors have had cabinet level representation. As expressed by House Aging and Older Adult Services Chairman Tim Hennessey at a House Appropriations Committee meeting: “What position do you think would be the most effective advocate for the elderly: a cabinet secretary sitting beside other cabinet secretaries … or a deputy secretary three levels down from the governor…?’
Buried in Bureaucracy. Aging may get lost in the large DHS dominated super-agency bureaucracy.
Potential Reduction in lottery funding…” Jeffrey Marshall, id. With consolidation, lottery funds could then be used by the much larger Department of Human Services to cover other expenses including shortfalls in the General Fund for Medicaid.
Permitting an agency that currently runs efficiently to be swallowed by another much larger agency that has experienced problems is itself a problem. As expressed by Representative Hennessey, why place an agency that already functions smoothly in the position of being merged with the Department of Human Services. The Department of Human Services has had difficulty recently with outsourcing enrollment into the Medicaid Waiver Program to a private concern.
More thought must be given before such a major restructuring is undertaken and more input from the public. If you are interested, this might be the time to let your State legislative representative know.
About the Author Janet Colliton
Esquire, Colliton Law Associates, P.C. Janet Colliton has practiced law for over 38 years, 37 of them in Chester County, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. Her practice, Colliton Law Associates, PC, is limited to elder law, Medicaid, including advice, applications and appeals, and other benefits planning including Veterans benefits, life care and special needs planning, guardianships, retirement, and estate planning and administration.