DPW regs hurt Pike seniors and service providers

Published Jun 14, 2012 at 2:14 pm (Updated Jun 14, 2012)

Recent changes in department of public welfare-(DPW) funded services for home and community based care have started taking effect in Pike County and the entire state.

Under DPW new regulations aging care managers or service coordinators as they are called now are left competing for now limited time to coordinate services for the very vulnerable and most at risk.

Service providers are taking a $1 to $3 per hour decrease in payments by DPW for their services in the home and through personal assistant services. These seniors are entitled to nursing home care, paid for by medicaid.

They could have nursing care available at all times, but with these new regulations, if they choose to stay home there is no nursing oversight provided.

Home and community based care has shown to be the choice of consumers over nursing homes and has proven to be about one third the cost, but with Pennsylvania's Dept. of Welfare changes more consumers will be entering nursing homes. This will, unfortunately, cost both the consumer's freedom of choice and the taxpayers of this state.

Robin LoDolce
Hawley