Calls on Corbett to Abandon Pension, Liquor, Revenue Linkage
Harrisburg – Junio 29, 2014 – State Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) today called on Gov. Tom Corbett to stop holding new dedicated funding for students, job creation, senior citizens and human services hostage in exchange for his pension and liquor reforms.
“It is not too late for the governor to abandon his politically motivated budget negotiating position that will result in a cut budget and hardship for citizens across Pennsylvania,” Costa said. “There is broad support in the General Assembly for a new severance tax for education, job creation and human services without linkage to ideological issues like pension reform and liquor privatization, which have no impact on this year’s budget.”
Costa said that despite the projected $1.5 billion plus budget deficit there are options available to the governor and legislative leaders to address key funding areas. He said that a new 5 percent shale extraction tax would generate in excess of $700 million and expanding Medicaid would create $400 million more.
“Expanding Medicaid doesn’t just help 500,000 individuals, including 23,000 veterans, gain access to health insurance, the savings and revenues that are generated have the potential to save the governor’s budget from becoming a fiasco,” Costa said.
Costa said that without new revenue, Republican Senate and House budget negotiators will have to cobble together a spending plan that uses budget cuts, accounting tricks and one-time transfers that will do long term harm. The governor’s own budget plan released in Febrero used budget gimmicks.
“The governor’s bargaining position is a non-starter that threatens school funding increases, economic development investment and the ability to restore funds that were cut from his last three budgets,” Costa said. “If the governor does not relent and support new revenues such as the extraction tax and Medicaid expansion, there is going to be massive budget problems and fiscal pain that will be felt by taxpayers for years to come.”
“A good example of a cut budget was the spending plan offered by House Republicans which does little to help schools, slashes job-creating tax credits and fails to address key social service programs,” Costa said. “Students, teachers and taxpayers have suffered enough in trying to deal with the governor’s $1 billion cut and his last three budgets.”
The Pittsburgh-area lawmaker said there are even more revenues and savings options. He said that his caucus announced a detailed plan that would generate more than $1.1 billion in savings and revenues. Senate Democrats have also offered their own pension reform and liquor modernization plans.
“If the governor would just expand Medicaid and join us in supporting a 5 percent shale tax we could bolster saving and revenues by more than a billion dollars without impacting individual taxpayers,” Costa said.
Costa said that there is still time to do a budget correctly but that requires the governor and legislative Republicans to bring Senate and House Democrats on board.
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Harrisburg – Junio 27, 2014 – State Sen. Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) released the following statement concerning the UPMC-Highmark transition agreement. The agreement specifies care options that will be available to health-care consumers in Western Pennsylvania beginning Jan. 1, 2015. The current contract between the two companies expires at the end of this year.
La declaración de Costa es la siguiente:
“The UPMC-Highmark transition agreement provides a path forward for health-care consumers in the Pittsburgh area. The agreement does not go as far as I would have preferred, but there are positive aspects of the negotiated settlement that should be embraced by patients, doctors and communities throughout the region.
“While the agreement is not an extension of the UPMC-Highmark contract, it does preserve in-network access to specialty hospitals, emergency rooms and certain treatment facilities. It also addresses coverage for Medicare.
“Many of us have worked hard both in public discussions and private meetings to talk through approaches and forge an agreement. There were many different options and alternatives available, including a legislative approach favored by Sen. Vulakovich, Reps. Frankel and Christiana and me that would have resolved the disagreement once and for all.
“The UPMC-Highmark dispute has simmered too long. Now that the agreement has been reached, the stress and apprehension that too many health-care consumers have faced for too long can be relieved.”
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Harrisburg – Junio 17, 2014 – Legislation authored by the Democratic leader of the Senate, Sen. Jay Costa (D-Allegheny), which would improve how pooled trusts are administered, has been approved by the state Senate.
“The measure changes the calculation of how funds are to be distributed after the beneficiary dies,” Costa said. “The legislation retains the original purpose of the bill which allows funding to be used for the benefit of all individuals who are serviced by the trust.”
Under current law, a trust may retain up to 50 percent of a beneficiary’s account for to be distributed to other beneficiaries. The remaining 50 percent of the account is reimbursed to Pennsylvania equal to the total amount of Medical Assistance that was paid on behalf of the beneficiary.
“The bill was designed to benefit those individuals who would otherwise not have access to pooled resources,” Costa said. “The legislation broadens the scope of how funds can be spent and allows pooled trust funds to be used in support of those
The bill was amended on the Senate floor to change the details about how the fund should be split. The new language requires that if there are funds not retained by the trust after the beneficiary dies, then the trust reimburses Pennsylvania or other states an amount that covers the cost of providing Medical Assistance to the beneficiary from the funds not retained by the trust.
The bill now goes to the state House of Representatives.
Harrisburg – Junio 6, 2014 – State Sen. Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) will be hosting a live interactive Teletown Hall for constituents on Martes, Junio 10 at 7:05 p.m.
“This is the first time that I will be hosting a telephone town hall and I am excited about using this technology to reach citizens,” Costa said. “The call will be held in the evening so we can engage those who are not able to come to our offices or call during normal business hours.”
Participate in Telephone Townhall
To participate live in the Teletown Hall, constituents need only answer a telephone call at 7:05 p.m. to their home. Those who respond to the call will be instructed on how to interact with Costa live.
More information is available on Costa’s website at www.senatorcosta.com. The website contains a form where individuals can sign up to ensure participation and submit questions before the event begins.
For more information, call Costa’s local district offices in Forest Hills (412) 241-6690, Homestead (412) 462-4204 or Carrick (412) 884-8308.
Contact: Stacey Witalec
Telephone: 717 877-2997
Email: switalec@pasenate.com
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Harrisburg – Junio 6, 2014 – Senate Democratic Leader Sen. Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) said today he has sent a letter to Gov. Tom Corbett asking for a meeting with lawmakers who have sought a resolution of the contract dispute between Highmark Inc. and UPMC.
Specifically, Sen. Costa said lawmakers want to meet with the governor’s “Patients First” team to ensure that unlimited access for patients to doctors and health-care facilities are part of the discussion.
The “Patients First” initiative, announced earlier this week, includes the state’s health and insurance commissioners who are to meet with managers at UPMC and Highmark to establish “clarity” about the health care access after Jan. 1, 2015.
In the letter, Costa said he is “troubled” that the governor’s team has met with UPMC and Highmark without legislative involvement and that the stated goal of the initiative is “clarity” rather than health care access for all.
“Meetings are important, and engagement and open dialogue are necessary, but the discussion must include in-network access to doctors and facilities for all if a patient has insurance,” Costa said. “The governor’s team should meet with lawmakers who have been actively seeking a long-term solution to the UPMC-Highmark impasse because we have plenty to offer.”
Costa and Sen. Randy Vulakovich (R-Allegheny) have sponsored Senate Bills 1247 and 1248, which would allow consumers access to hospitals and doctors regardless of the insurance they are carrying. Similar legislation has also been introduced in the House.
“No patient who has insurance should wonder whether they can see their doctor or be treated in a nearby hospital,” Costa said. “These are non-profits and there is a compelling interest in brokering an agreement that includes access for all, without restrictions.
“We have legislation drafted and introduced that will solve the problem without reservation and that proposed solution should be part of the talks.”
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View Sen. Costa’s Letter to Gov. Corbett →
Harrisburg – Mayo 8, 2014 – State Senate Democratic Leader Sen. Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) released the following statement following the Corbett administration’s announcement that they would not appeal the court decision which struck down Pennsylvania’s controversial voter ID law:
“We should never have gotten to the point where the Corbett administration was deciding whether or not to appeal an unconstitutional law. The law, on its face, was inappropriate and it never should have been adopted.
“There was no question that the whole law was based in politics and that its goal was to disenfranchise voters and suppress voting. The case fell apart almost immediately because the court rightly saw there was no evidence of fraud.
“The Corbett administration wasted time and money in the pursuit of this law and the court actions that resulted from its passage. Taking away the right to vote is a very serious matter and that is what the court addressed. The right to vote deserves to be protected and participation should be preserved.”
The law would have had impacted Pennsylvania’s estimated 8.2 million voters. Trial testimony indicated that more than 750,000 voters do not have proper ID’s and would have been prevented from voting.
More than 9 percent of voters did not have proper PennDOT-issued voter ID’s. PennDOT driver’s licensing centers, where voters are supposed to pick up ID’s, do not exist in nine counties and have limited operations in 22 others.
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