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HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — One of Gov. Ed Rendell's cabinet secretaries said Monday she was "pretty upset" that lawmakers approved a raise for themselves in a state government budget that also cut benefits in medical care for the poor. Estelle Richman, the state Public Welfare Department secretary, made the remark in response to a moderator's question at a Pennsylvania Press Club luncheon in Harrisburg at which she was the keynote speaker. Asked how upset she was about the situation, Richman responded, "I'm pretty upset still." "I would like to have seen that some of these very drastic cuts that are...

Rally, meetings let legislators know how Gov. Rendell’s plans would impact nursing homes. HARRISBURG – Ron Patti, administrator of Riverstreet Manor in Wilkes-Barre, sees no end to the rising demand for nursing home care in Pennsylvania, yet he fears he’ll soon have to turn away people who need help most. A $219 million proposed cut in Pennsylvania’s Medicaid budget would have a crippling effect on nursing homes around the state, Patti said, forcing him and other administrators to make the same heart-wrenching decision: cut staff or cut services. “Would we have to say no to some types of long-term residents?”...

HARRISBURG, Pa. - Gov. Ed Rendell said Monday he hopes to find money to soften some of his proposed Medicaid cuts, but warned that the program that provides health care for one in seven Pennsylvanians poses many future funding problems. Growth in Medicaid, which serves 1.8 million poor and disabled health care, is projected to outstrip state tax revenue by $1 billion in each of the next five years, Rendell said. To help rein in a similar funding gap this year, Rendell proposed $500 million cuts to Medicaid that he indicated Monday could be softened. "There are some additional revenues,...

Federal changes to Medicaid will mean deep cuts for Pennsylvania’s low-income patients, state welfare secretary says. “This is a year of shared sacrifice. I think most of us have been calling it shared pain.” Estelle Richman Department of Public Welfare secretary PITTSTON TWP. – Medicaid’s glory days are over. So if you’re a Medicaid patient, brace yourself for the pain – both to your body and to your wallet. That was the message Friday from state Department of Public Welfare Secretary Estelle Richman, who painted a grim picture of Pennsylvania’s proposed 2005-06 welfare budget during a public forum at the...