SUNBURY - Northumberland County commissioners say they can no longer afford the funding cuts to human services prompted by Act 22.
With that, the commissioners voted Tuesday to begin the disenrollment process for the Aging Waiver Program while it furloughs non-essential staff and discontinues funding of transportation fares for all residents under 65 years of age, effective Dec. 1.
Commissioners Vinny Clausi, Richard Shoch and Stephen Bridy said the changes are necessary due to the fiscally challenging times facing all Area Agency on Aging (AAA) offices across the state, and said the budget constraints are a "direct result" of the Act 22 regulations.
Act 22, in effect for the 2011-12 fiscal year, granted Secretary of Public Welfare Gary Alexander the ability to institute changes in programming without formal legislative approval. The intent of the act was to reduce fraud and abuse in the welfare system, but even Republicans who supported it have acknowledged its "unintended consequences" in human services funding.
Alexander cut Aging Waiver service coordination reimbursement rates to the state's AAA offices. Service coordinators are responsible for arranging and coordinating various personal care services that allow waiver enrollees to remain out of institutional settings. Due to extremely low reimbursement, the Northumberland County AAA will have a deficit of $120,000 this year if the agency continues to administer the waiver program.
Transition plan
Patricia A. Rumberger, AAA administrator, said a transition plan will be established for county residents that will involve another service coordination, agency or entity providing services under the waiver program, for which there are 151 county residents enrolled.
"There will be no interruption of services throughout the transition, which could take up to four months," Rumberger said.
As for the transportation aspect, she said the county AAA is one of the few agencies in the state that has offered free transportation to county residents between ages 60 and 65.
Flat funded
In a press release issued after Tuesday's meeting, Rumberger said AAA offices in Pennsylvania are finding it increasingly difficult to fund programs and services for older adults as the baby-boomer population turns 60 years old. She said AAA offices have been flat funded for the last 11 years while the number of older adults requesting services has continued to increase.
"These regulations will place seniors at risk and significantly limit the capacity of AAAs to serve older Pennsylvanians," Rumberger said. "The Northumberland County Area Agency on Aging currently has a waiting list of 53 consumers for the personal care/bathing service in the Options Program and the waiting list increases daily."
She said the agency doesn't have the financial resources to continue to supplement a Medicaid program with Aging block grant funds, and has no choice but to begin the process of disenrollment in the waiver program.
Rumberger said 16 of the 52 AAAs throughout the state will no longer have service coordinators for the program by the end of the year. If service coordination rates do not increase, all 52 AAAs will no longer provide the service.
(Questions can be directed to Rumberger or AAA deputy administrator Karen Leonovich at 495-2395.)