PRINTER'S NO. 3220
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
2372
Session of
2024
INTRODUCED BY BENHAM, ORTITAY, PROBST, HOHENSTEIN, McNEILL,
HARKINS, SANCHEZ, WAXMAN, KHAN, BRIGGS, ABNEY, BOROWSKI,
DEASY, HILL-EVANS, DELLOSO, PISCIOTTANO, KRAJEWSKI, GREEN,
CERRATO, DALEY, SHUSTERMAN, SALISBURY, DONAHUE, MADDEN,
CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, FRANKEL, POWELL, MERSKI AND COOK,
JUNE 3, 2024
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, JUNE 3, 2024
AN ACT
Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), entitled
"An act relating to the finances of the State government;
providing for cancer control, prevention and research, for
ambulatory surgical center data collection, for the Joint
Underwriting Association, for entertainment business
financial management firms, for private dam financial
assurance and for reinstatement of item vetoes; providing for
the settlement, assessment, collection, and lien of taxes,
bonus, and all other accounts due the Commonwealth, the
collection and recovery of fees and other money or property
due or belonging to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
including escheated property and the proceeds of its sale,
the custody and disbursement or other disposition of funds
and securities belonging to or in the possession of the
Commonwealth, and the settlement of claims against the
Commonwealth, the resettlement of accounts and appeals to the
courts, refunds of moneys erroneously paid to the
Commonwealth, auditing the accounts of the Commonwealth and
all agencies thereof, of all public officers collecting
moneys payable to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
and all receipts of appropriations from the Commonwealth,
authorizing the Commonwealth to issue tax anticipation notes
to defray current expenses, implementing the provisions of
section 7(a) of Article VIII of the Constitution of
Pennsylvania authorizing and restricting the incurring of
certain debt and imposing penalties; affecting every
department, board, commission, and officer of the State
government, every political subdivision of the State, and
certain officers of such subdivisions, every person,
association, and corporation required to pay, assess, or
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collect taxes, or to make returns or reports under the laws
imposing taxes for State purposes, or to pay license fees or
other moneys to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
every State depository and every debtor or creditor of the
Commonwealth," in human services, providing for personal
assistance services rate; and, in general budget
implementation, further providing for Department of Human
Services.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Article XVI-T of the act of April 9, 1929
(P.L.343, No.176), known as The Fiscal Code, is amended by
adding a section to read:
Section 1607-T. Personal assistance services rate.
(a) Community HealthChoices.--Effective January 1, 2025, a
provider who receives funding through Community HealthChoices
through the existing Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) Home and
Community Based Waiver Services Fee Schedule Rate for Procedure
Codes W1793 - PAS (Agency) and W1792 - PAS (Consumer) Services
shall spend no less than 80% of the funds received on salary and
benefits of a personal assistance worker.
(b) Enhanced provider rate.--The Department of Human
Services shall establish an enhanced rate for a provider that
invests no less than 90% of funds received from the Commonwealth
on the wages and benefits of an agency-directed personal
assistance worker. Notice of the enhanced rate shall be
transmitted to the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication
in the next available issue of the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
(c) Evaluation of rate.--
(1) No later than December 31, 2027, and every three
years thereafter, the Department of Human Services shall
review the current rate paid to personal assistance workers
and make recommendations on any proposed changes to the
current rate. In the department's review, the department
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shall, at a minimum:
(i) Identify key cost components for each service
based on the service.
(ii) Obtain input from the Medicaid Rate Workgroup.
(iii) Collect and analyze Pennsylvania-specific wage
data, including inflation and the Consumer Price Index.
(iv) Review and analyze updated assumptions.
(v) Model the fee ranges for each service and
solicit feedback on the proposed fee ranges.
(2) The following shall apply:
(i) The Governor shall consider any proposed changes
to the rate under this subsection in the annual budget
development and implementation process.
(ii) The General Assembly shall consider any
proposed changes to the rate under this subsection in the
annual budget development and implementation process.
Section 2. Section 1729-E(a) of the act is amended by adding
a paragraph to read:
Section 1729-E. Department of Human Services.
(a) Appropriations.--The following shall apply to
appropriations for the Department of Human Services:
* * *
(9) From money appropriated for Long-Term Living (OLTL)
Home and Community Based Waiver Services:
(i) Sufficient funds are included for a 16%
increase, effective January 1, 2025, to the existing
Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) Home and Community
Based Waiver Services Fee Schedule Rate for Procedure
Code W1792 - PAS (Consumer) Services. This increase shall
be used to provide a wage increase for direct care
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workers providing consumer-directed personal assistance
services.
(ii) Sufficient funds are included for a 10%
increase, effective January 1, 2025, to the existing
Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) Home and Community
Based Waiver Services Fee Schedule Rate for Procedure
Code W1793 - PAS (Agency) Services. This increase shall
be used to provide a wage increase for direct care
workers providing agency-directed personal assistance
services.
* * *
Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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