Post by Logan on Apr 5, 2017 12:36:16 GMT -6
State senators unconvinced on health and human services merger
Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposal to unify four Cabinet agencies into one Department of Health and Human Services by July was met with skeptical questions from unconvinced legislators at a Harrisburg hearing Wednesday.
Mr. Wolf’s administration has said the proposed merger of the Departments of Aging, Health, Drug and Alcohol Programs, and Human Services would result in better delivery of services and a savings of more than $90 million for taxpayers.
At a state Senate hearing, however, some legislators questioned whether such a large agency would deliver better services, or if certain issues — particularly the concerns of senior citizens and those facing addiction — would become lost in a mega-bureaucracy. The move would require legislative approval.
Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Luzerne, chair of the Senate’s Health and Human Services Committee, said she had concerns regarding the possible “downgrading” of drug and alcohol and aging concerns if those agencies were subsumed into the larger human services department.
Read more: www.post-gazette.com/news/state/2017/03/30/Pa-health-human-services-merger-tom-wolf-proposal/stories/201703300065
Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposal to unify four Cabinet agencies into one Department of Health and Human Services by July was met with skeptical questions from unconvinced legislators at a Harrisburg hearing Wednesday.
Mr. Wolf’s administration has said the proposed merger of the Departments of Aging, Health, Drug and Alcohol Programs, and Human Services would result in better delivery of services and a savings of more than $90 million for taxpayers.
At a state Senate hearing, however, some legislators questioned whether such a large agency would deliver better services, or if certain issues — particularly the concerns of senior citizens and those facing addiction — would become lost in a mega-bureaucracy. The move would require legislative approval.
Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Luzerne, chair of the Senate’s Health and Human Services Committee, said she had concerns regarding the possible “downgrading” of drug and alcohol and aging concerns if those agencies were subsumed into the larger human services department.
Read more: www.post-gazette.com/news/state/2017/03/30/Pa-health-human-services-merger-tom-wolf-proposal/stories/201703300065