Iam outraged that Gov. Josh Shapiro and the legislature once again passed a state budget that ignores 94 percent of Pennsylvania’s direct care workforce. Only a small portion of home care workers, those in the participant-directed program, received funding.

The rest—the caregivers employed by home care agencies serving older adults and people with disabilities across this state—were left behind.

These are the most compassionate people in our workforce. They spend their days caring for others, yet many cannot afford to care for themselves. Because the state refuses to raise Medicaid reimbursement rates, agencies cannot pay fair wages.

Caregivers are being forced to turn to food banks, rely on public assistance, or leave the profession entirely just to survive.

Every neighboring state ha

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