For the first time in over four years, the Pennsylvania General Assembly completed the FY 2018-2019 budget ahead of the constitutionally mandated June 30 deadline.

During our Advocacy Day in Harrisburg, House Appropriations Chairman Stan Saylor announced he was working to get us an increase in personal assistant services (PAS) provided under the Office of Long-Term Living. This was Pennsylvania’s primary legislative priority for BAYADA in 2018.

After this announcement the Government Affairs Office (GAO), home care advocates, and the Pennsylvania Homecare Association (PHA) worked at breakneck speeds to make it a reality. In the month leading up to the final budget we met with Chairman Saylor and staff several times, spoke with key leadership, and touched the entire legislature several times. Unfortunately, the legislature passed, and the Governor signed, the FY 2018-2019 budget without this increase.

We have been working towards this increase since 2014 and we have made incredible progress. We will continue to ensure this remains top of legislators’ minds. This summer we will begin our work to ensure we receive a rate increase in next year’s budget.

Thank you for your support, and for the time that you took participating in our efforts, whether it was by emailing legislators through our action alert, which generated over 430 emails to legislators, or through your attendance at PHA’s Advocacy Day in Harrisburg. All of these efforts showed legislators just how widespread and important this issue is, and we have heard directly from many who told us how impactful our efforts continue to be.