Category: PBPC Blog posts

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The Likely Impact of COVID-19 on Pennsylvania

  By COVID-19, PBPC Blog posts

Originally published by KRC-PBPC here. A recent study from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington projects the impact of the COVID-19 virus on the state between now and August 1, 2020. The study concludes that by then the virus will have killed more than 3,000 Pennsylvanians, and it will heavily stress our health care system in mid-April. But thanks to the social distancing and business closures required by the Wolf administration, our state will avoid the devastation that might occur if current COVID-19 trends—which are a product of our interaction before the policies went into effect—were to continue. The study projects that the peak need for hospital resources will occur in Pennsylvania on April 17 when 9,745 hospital beds will be required. That number is below the 14,395 hospital beds in the state. However, it also predicts that 1,417 beds will be needed… Continue reading

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Funds for Pennsylvania in the Senate Coronavirus Relief Act

  By PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts

Originally published by KRC-PBPC here. By Marc Stier and Maisum Murtaza Update April 1: Two additional funding streams are not yet included in the table below. 1. The state should receive about $800 million in additional support for Medicaid / Medical Assistance through December, 2020. 2. The state will receive about $523 million  in funding for Education from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency School Relief Fund and $104 million from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund. This brings the total funds that will be received by the  state to roughly $5.5 billion. Updated March 30, 2020. The Senate Coronavirus Relief bill contains many parts. It will direct federal funds to flow to state and municipal governments through numerous funding streams. The largest one is the $150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund which will bring Pennsylvania $4.96 billion with about 21% going to county and municipal governments with a population of… Continue reading

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Here Is What We Know About the COVID-19 Stimulus Bill

  By COVID-19, Economic Development, PBPC Blog posts, Politics

Originally published by KRC-PBPC here. Here is what we think we know about the bipartisan COVID-19 stimulus / relief bill that we expect the Senate to pass today. Let me be clear that lawmakers reached a deal—but the legislative text is not yet complete. Legislative staff members are working to fill in all the blanks on the agreements in order to have a full bill to move to the floor today. Some of these details may change in the final version. We will be updating this blog post throughout the day as we receive more details. Cash payments: The bill provides a one-time stipend of about $1,200 per individual making up to $75,000, $2,400 for couples making $150,000 or less, and $500 per child. The payment will be reduced gradually as incomes rise. Individuals who make up to $99,000 and couples making up to $198,000 would receive less. Though still unsure, we believe… Continue reading

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Lawmakers Should Take a Mulligan When Governor Wolf Vetoes Tax Credit for More Petro Plants

  By Economic Development, Environment, Marcellus Shale, PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts

HARRISBURG – Keystone Research Center economist Stephen Herzenberg and Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center director Marc Stier issued the following statement in the wake of the Pennsylvania General Assembly’s approval yesterday of a multimillion-dollar tax credit for future petrochemical and fertilizer plants that use Pennsylvania natural gas as a feedstock. “We strongly urge Governor Wolf to veto HB 1100, an  inadequately considered subsidy for petrochemical companies and then urge lawmakers of both parties to reconsider their support so that the governor’s veto is sustained. Doubling down on subsidies for petrochemical and plastics companies at this moment of history is like buying more deck chairs for the Titanic.” “The minimum due diligence the Pennsylvania General Assembly should demand of itself is to ask the Independent Fiscal Office to evaluate the advisability of this subsidy, considering: the consequences of expanding petrochemical production in western Pennsylvania for carbon emissions and other pollutants, and… Continue reading

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Trump Makes the States a Medicaid Offer They Must Refuse

  By PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts

Originally published by KRC-PBPC here. Yesterday the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it would encourage states to apply for waivers that would replace the current system of financing Medicaid with a block grant program that would cap federal Medicaid funding. States like Pennsylvania must say no to this offer, which threatens a federal / state Medicaid program that works well, especially in our state. Under the current system, states must implement the Medicaid program in a way that guarantees that individuals who meet certain income requirements get coverage for a set of medical problems. Some states cover a more limited number of medical problems. Others, like our state, cover more. But all must meet certain minimum federal requirements. And, together, the federal and state governments pay for the health care of everyone who meets the requirements set by the state. The Trump plan is problematic in… Continue reading

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On Today’s Ruling on the Affordable Care Act Individual Health Insurance Mandate

  By Health Care, PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts

Originally published at KRC-PBPC here. Today’s 2-1 decision by a federal appeals court rules the ACA’s requirement that people have health insurance is unconstitutional because Congress has repealed the tax penalty for those who don’t have health insurance. But it steps back from the conclusion reached a year ago by Federal Judge Reed O’Connor that the entire ACA is unconstitutional. Both parts of the decision were expected by reasonable legal scholars. The individual mandate was upheld by the Court in NFIB v. Sibelius in 2012 on the grounds that it was an exercise of Congress’s power to tax individuals. The repeal of the tax undermined this rationale for the individual mandate put forward by Chief Justice Roberts in that case. Judge O’Connor went much further and argued that without the individual mandate, the entire ACA is unconstitutional, even though there was no explicit indication in the law that said the… Continue reading

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Election Reform Enacted!

  By Elections and Voting, PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts

Originally published at KRC-PBPC here. Yesterday, Governor Wolf signed Act 77, historic legislation that expands the opportunity to vote in Pennsylvania. The legislation includes the following provisions: No excuse mail-in voting: The law creates a new option to vote by mail without providing an excuse, which is currently required for voters using absentee ballots. Pennsylvania joins 31 other states and the District of Columbia in instituting mail-in voting. 50-day mail-in voting period: All voters can request and submit their mail-in or absentee ballot up to 50 days before the election, which is the longest vote-by-mail period in the country. The law also allows county election officials to establish an unlimited number of satellite offices where citizens can register, pick up a mail-in ballot, and deposit their ballot. Establishing satellite offices in communities that have historically low voting rates will do much to encourage more Pennsylvanians to vote. Permanent mail-in and absentee ballot… Continue reading

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PA Protects Against Insurance Losses Caused by Trump

  By PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts

Originally published by KRC-PBPC here. A census bureau report released on Tuesday shows that 1.9 million more Americans were uninsured in 2018 than in 2017, with the rate of those uninsured rising from 7.9% to 8.5%. However, in Pennsylvania the rate is unchanged at 5.5%, and the best estimate we have is that only 7,000 fewer people have health insurance in the state (and even that difference might just be a result of sampling error). We have better results in Pennsylvania than nationwide as a result of the aggressive steps taken by the Wolf administration to expand access to health insurance in the state. Health insurance rates are dropping nationwide because of a relentless attack by the Trump administration and Congressional Republicans on the Affordable Care Act. At the outset of his administration, Trump issued an executive order calling on federal agencies to waive and delay ACA provisions ‘to the maximum extent… Continue reading

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On Gov. Wolf’s Veto of SB48, a Bill to Eliminate Straight-Party Ticket Voting

  By Elections and Voting, PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts, Voting

Published on KRC-PBPB here. HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center Director Marc Stier made the following statement on Governor Wolf’s veto of SB48, a bill to eliminate straight-party ticket voting, among other election reforms: “We are gratified that Governor Wolf has vetoed SB48.” “SB48 started out as a bill to help Pennsylvania counties secure funds to procure new, secure voting machines. Republicans decided to add a provision to eliminate straight ticket voting from the Pennsylvania ballot.” “As my colleague Kadida Kenner pointed out in a powerful op-ed (http://bit.ly/2LpnYnH), eliminating straight ticket voting would have depressed the vote of people of color and low-income voters, who are often ignored by political campaigns, in down-ballot races— including those to the General Assembly. “Like the unnecessary Voter ID laws and partisan redistricting plans they have adopted in the past, the attempt to eliminate straight-ticket voting was a shameful attempt by a Republican Party… Continue reading

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On SB48, a Bill to Eliminate Straight-Party Ticket Voting

  By Elections and Voting, PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center director Marc Stier made the following statement on SB48, a bill to eliminate straight-party ticket voting, among other election reforms: “SB48 started out as a bill to help Pennsylvania Counties secure funds to procure new, secure voting machines. “Republicans decided to add a provision to eliminate straight ticket voting from the Pennsylvania ballot. “As my colleague Kadida Kenner points out in a powerful op-ed today (http://bit.ly/2LpnYnH), this action will diminish the vote of people of color and low-income voters, who are often ignored by political campaigns, especially in down-ballot races—including those to the General Assembly. “Like the unnecessary Voter ID laws and partisan redistricting plans they have adopted in the past, this is another shameful attempt by the Republican Party to rig our political system in their favor. “We strongly urge Governor Wolf to veto this bill and find an alternative means of helping… Continue reading