The continued growth in public welfare spending is unsustainable. The federal government is responsible for much of the welfare system, but states can adopt reforms that preserve welfare resources for the most vulnerable. By enacting reforms that promote work and independence, Pennsylvania can right-size state welfare spending and help more Pennsylvanians get back on their feet. Taxpayers deserve a welfare system that compliments a strong economy.

State Budget

Time for Welfare Work Requirements

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • June 13, 2018

Yesterday, welfare work requirement bills HB 2138 and HB 1659 moved out of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. This move ensures welfare reform will be a focus…

Media

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Taxes & Economy

A Career for Life: Toni’s Work Story

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • June 6, 2018

DuBois resident Toni Prescott Flanders knows the value of hard work. As a teenager she worked alongside her mom, who owned a restaurant. But Toni wanted more than a job.

Media

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Health Care

More than a Paycheck: Amanda’s Work Story

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • May 30, 2018

A mother of four, Amanda Zernell worked odd jobs – as a certified nurse assistant at minimum wage and later at Sears – to help support her family. But after…

Media

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Health Care

A Future for My Kids and Me

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • May 10, 2018

Megan Spaulding graduated from the Brockway Center for Arts and Technology Medical Assistant program two years ago. This single mom turned medical professional describes her new found career as “life-changing.”…

Media

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Health Care

Medicaid is Broken, Work Requirements Can Help

  • Rep. Matt Dowling
  • May 7, 2018

Pennsylvanians deserve every opportunity to live fulfilling, prosperous lives. But too often, government programs end up holding back our friends and neighbors by discouraging them from pursuing independence.

Commentary

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Taxes & Economy

The Path to Prosperity

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • May 2, 2018

Last month we featured the story of Diane, a hardworking medical assistant in Clearfield County and graduate of the Brockway Center for Arts and Technology (BCAT) medical assistant…

Media

Read More: The Path to Prosperity

Taxes & Economy

State House Strengthens Food Stamps Work Requirements

  • May 1, 2018

Today, the state House passed HB 1659, which strengthens existing work requirements for able-bodied adults in Pennsylvania’s food stamp program. This follows a work requirement measure for Medicaid,…

Press Release

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Health Care

Welfare Reform is Sweeping the Nation

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • April 20, 2018

“Right now, America combines near-record-low unemployment with near-record-high welfare dependency — the result of state-level eligibility exemptions, federal loopholes and policies that put work on the back burner.” Those are…

Media

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Taxes & Economy

The Dignity of Work in Rural Pennsylvania

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • April 19, 2018

The Brockway Center for Arts and Technology (BCAT) is only five years old, but it has helped over 100 unemployed and underemployed Pennsylvanians find fulfilling and family-sustaining healthcare careers.

Media

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Taxes & Economy

House Passes Work-Promoting Medicaid Reform

  • April 17, 2018

Today, the state House passed legislation, HB 2138, promoting independence among healthy, adult Medicaid recipients by requiring them to find part-time work or engage in job training to continue receiving…

Press Release

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Health Care

House Takes Step Towards Transformative Welfare Reform

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • April 10, 2018

Lawmakers took a significant step towards strengthening human service programs today. The House Health Committee passed HB 2138 with bipartisan support to restore the dignity of work for people…

Media

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Health Care

What’s the Goal of Welfare Reform?

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • April 6, 2018

Pennsylvania's welfare system focuses on how much one needs to “get by” or how many different services and programs one can qualify for. These are well-intentioned attitudes that stem from…

Media

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Taxes & Economy

More Dependency Isn’t the Answer to PA Poverty

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • March 28, 2018

Department of Human Services (DHS) Secretary Teresa Miller wants more people on food stamps (or SNAP). In a hearing with the Senate Appropriations Committee, she argued that because the program…

Media

Read More: More Dependency Isn’t the Answer to PA Poverty

Health Care

Missing the Mark in Medicaid

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • March 15, 2018

When it comes to welfare, state government asks the wrong question. That’s the premise of Rep. Kerry Benninghoff’s views on welfare reform in the latest Brews and Views podcast.

Media

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Health Care

Pressure Mounts to Create a Pathway to Prosperity in Medicaid

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • March 8, 2018

During state budget hearings this week, Pennsylvanians learned some unwelcome news about healthy adults added to Medicaid under the Obamacare expansion: less than half are working. The Department of Human Services (DHS)…

Media

Read More: Pressure Mounts to Create a Pathway to Prosperity in Medicaid

Health Care

Improving Medicaid through Work & Community Engagement

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • March 2, 2018

For the first time, the federal government is allowing states to require recipients to pursue work, education, or community engagement to maintain Medicaid benefits. With wide support in Pennsylvania, this…

Fact Sheet

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Health Care

Poll: Voters Overwhelmingly Support Medicaid Work Requirements

  • January 16, 2018

In other states, thousands of Americans previously dependent on government programs have transformed their lives and achieved independence thanks to work requirements. But Pennsylvania’s human services system still traps people…

Press Release

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Health Care

States Get Green Light to Propose Medicaid Work Requirements

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • January 11, 2018

It's official: The Trump administration has formally endorsed the policy of work requirements for healthy Medicaid recipients. For years states have sought this flexibility to help beneficiaries of Medicaid—government-run health insurance…

Media

Read More: States Get Green Light to Propose Medicaid Work Requirements

Taxes & Economy

Lawmakers Seek to Restore Dignity of Work

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • January 3, 2018

In the first press conference of 2018, House Republicans introduced a package of bills aimed at breaking generational poverty. Rep. Tobash urged reform given the desperate state of…

Media

Read More: Lawmakers Seek to Restore Dignity of Work

Health Care

Obamacare Exchanges Continue To Dissapoint

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • December 14, 2017

Open enrollment for Obamacare exchange plans ends on December 15. It is convenient to blame the new administration and efforts to repeal the law for dwindling choices, disappointing enrollment, and…

Media

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Health Care

Restoring the Dignity of Work

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • October 17, 2017

The benefits of work are widely known. Yet major welfare programs treat work as a burden instead of the pathway to prosperity. Restoring work in food stamps alone could improve…

Report

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