Welfare
How to Help Pennsylvanians Prosper with Medicaid and SNAP Reform
Work requirements, strengthening eligibility verification, and prioritizing traditional enrollees will lead to better outcomes. Summary The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid programs are intended to help adults increase…
Read More: How to Help Pennsylvanians Prosper with Medicaid and SNAP ReformThe continued growth in public welfare spending is unsustainable. The federal government is responsible for much of the welfare system, but states can adopt reforms that preserve welfare resources for the most vulnerable. By enacting reforms that promote work and independence, Pennsylvania can right-size state welfare spending and help more Pennsylvanians get back on their feet. Taxpayers deserve a welfare system that compliments a strong economy.
Welfare
State-Run Health Exchanges: A Terrible Track Record
Governor Wolf is taking a big risk. His administration is preparing a Pennsylvania-operated Obamacare exchange if exchange subsidies from the federal exchange, or healthcare.gov, are ruled illegal by the…
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Read More: State-Run Health Exchanges: A Terrible Track RecordWelfare
Reforming the Welfare Benefits Cliff
Imagine you’re a single mom earning $47,000 a year (or $22.59 an hour) working full-time as an assistant manager at large department store. Your boss pulls you aside with great…
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Unlike Medicaid, Charity Clinics Lead to Independence
This week marks the beginning of Pennsylvania’s transition from Healthy PA to full Medicaid expansion. Over 100,000 beneficiaries were transferred to the traditional one-size-fits-all healthcare plan known for limited…
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Read More: Unlike Medicaid, Charity Clinics Lead to IndependenceWelfare
Pennsylvania State Budget Toolkit
The enacted $29 billion General Fund budget (a 1.88 percent increase over 2013-2014) and $71.4 billion total operating budget represent Pennsylvania’s highest spending levels ever—exceeding years when federal stimulus dollars…
Fact Sheet
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The Gift of Work
Red kettles, canned food drives, Toys for Tots—the holidays are a time when private charity shines. But have you ever wondered about the best way to help the poor? Ron…
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ACA Delivers Low-Quality, High Cost Care
The federal government’s health care overhaul is quickly becoming “Medicaid for all.” The more we learn about the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) newly insured population, the clearer it becomes that…
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Read More: ACA Delivers Low-Quality, High Cost CareWelfare
Access to Care Still a Burden to Bear
Need to see a dermatologist in Philadelphia? If you are on Medicaid you’ll have to wait a staggering 49 days, according to recent Merritt Hawkins survey. This is no…
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When the Poorest Fall Through
On a Friday near noon, on the top floor of Christ Lutheran Church, John Kiessling has patients occupying both chairs at his charity dental clinic. He buzzes from one to…
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Safety Net Should be Reformed, not Renamed
Good news: Pennsylvania will no longer spend 40 percent of the general fund budget on public welfare. Instead, we’ll spend it on “human services.” Yesterday, the general assembly approved HB…
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Healthy PA Approved, but Still Room to Improve
On Thursday, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced approval of the Healthy PA waiver, including a new private coverage option. But the approved waiver severely limited…
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Podcast: Profiles in Perseverance, Overcoming Poverty
Bobbi was struggling. A single mom of two kids, she had a job but no place to live. Thanks to Opportunity House in Reading, Pennsylvania, Bobbi found a home…
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There’s No Such Thing as a Temporary Expansion
Last week, the House Health and Human Services Committee advanced HB 1492 to accept the Obamacare Medicaid Expansion. This move would shift the purpose of Medicaid from caring for vulnerable…
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Read More: There’s No Such Thing as a Temporary ExpansionWelfare
Should Taxpayers Pay for Strippers?
Should individuals be able to spend their welfare benefits on liquor, tobacco, gambling or strippers? Currently, they can. House Bill 907 would codify Department of Welfare electronic benefit card…
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Will Modified Medicaid Expansion Bring Needed Reforms?
While Pennsylvania waits to learn the fate of the Healthy PA waiver, Indiana is making headlines as the latest state to propose a modified expansion. The Healthy Indiana Plan…
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Poverty Isn’t a Partisan Problem
Here’s a sobering fact: 13.1 percent of Pennsylvanians live in poverty despite billions spent every year on the social safety net. Simply throwing more money at the problem won’t make…
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The Harmful Effects of a Minimum Wage Increase
In his 2014 State of the Union address, President Obama proposed increasing the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour. Although it sounds beneficial to low-wage workers, minimum wage…
Fact Sheet
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Washington isn’t Interested in Fixing Medicaid
“We have been legitimately working very hard with them and frankly, I’m very disappointed with the turn in discussions in the last week,” said Governor Corbett (paywall) on the federal…
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Almost $2 Billion in Welfare Waste Weeded Out
Lottery winners on welfare, millionaires on food stamps and supervisors that turn a blind eye to fraud; these are the stories that drive Pennsylvanians crazy. But the…
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Liberal Group Screams “Murder” over Medicaid Expansion
This week, John Micek called out Keystone Progress on his Pennlive.com blog for what he termed a “disgusting” email that “has no place in our discourse.” What provoked this…
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Read More: Liberal Group Screams “Murder” over Medicaid ExpansionWelfare
Protection for the Poor a First Step
It’s too easy to steal from low-income Pennsylvanians and taxpayers according to Senators Scarnati and Argall. The lawmakers say it’s time to increase fraud penalties to make stealing over $1000…
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War on Poverty: 50 Years of Failing People
On January 8, 1964, Lyndon Johnson launched America’s “War on Poverty.” After 50 years, it’s clear poverty is winning. After five decades and more than $20 trillion in taxpayer…
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