Corbett's Budget May Help and Hurt PA Seniors

A press release by PRNewswire.com on 2/5/2013 covered a recent report by AARP Pennsylvania.  According to the report, Governor Corbett's budget for the next year is proposed to both help and hurt the elderly population of PA.

This budget for 2013-2014 is increasing the lottery-funded programs for seniors by $50M.  These programs benefit both home and community-based programs that offer alternatives for seniors who are living at home as opposed to in a nursing home.  However, that same money is also being used to fill in the gaps left by the state Medicaid budget.  Governor Corbett proposes shifting $309M from lottery earnings to the Medicaid budget.  If this budget passes, it will result in over $1.3B in lottery earnings over the last 6 years to the state Medicaid program.

Although more money is being shifted to Medicaid, AARP is concerned that the Governor's budget does not suggest expanding Medicaid eligibility as recommended by the Affordable Care Act, which would allow over 500,000 insured Pennsylvanians to become insured by 2022 at no cost to the state for the first several years. AARP is also concerned about the pension reform that may affect older Pennsylvanians nearing retirement age.

Attorney Doug Stoehr is a personal injury lawyer serving western and central Pennsylvania.  He takes cases for older Pennsylvanians who have been abused or neglected in nursing homes or hospitals.  For more information on his Altoona, PA area practice, please call his office at 814-946-4100 or visit his website at http://www.stoehrlaw.com.  Attorney Stoehr takes cases in Blair and the seven surrounding counties.

Texting Legislation Passed in State Senate This Week

As mentioned in the blog post yesterday, legislation officially making texting a primary offense while driving moved on to the State Senate on Tuesday of this week.  Both the Pennsylvania State Senate and the House of Representatives officially passed this piece of legislation, which Governor Corbett also reviewed earlier this fall.  Our blog has been highlighting the progression of this process since June of this summer and are happy to see the piece of legislation progressing into law.  The most recent update on this progression shows that the State Senate officially voted for the texting ban this Tuesday after some revisions were made to the earlier version of the ban.  Governor Corbett still needs to sign the legislation, and the law will take effect 120 days after he signs it.  If caught, texting drivers will face a $50 fine.  Recent surveys show that, although 96% of drivers see texting as a safety threat on the road, 30% still admit to doing it themselves.  Some Pennsylvania legislators are also considering forming a new piece of legislation that would also ban or limit cell phone use while driving.

Attorney Doug Stoehr is a personal injury lawyer serving the western and central Pennsylvania area.  One of his major areas of practice is injury or death due to motor vehicle accidents.  He has noticed a trend of accidents involving cell phone usage, both talking or texting, and urges you not to use your phone while driving and be wary of other drivers on the road who may be using their phones.  For more information on his law firm, please click here.