Outline for Letter to Governor Corbett

February 2011

Heading

February __, 2011
The Honorable Tom Corbett
225 Main Capitol Bldg
Harrisburg, PA 17120
Dear Governor Corbett:

Opening Paragraphs

  • State concern about budget for community-based services.
  • Example: I am writing to express my very serious concern about the budget for community-based services for people with mental illness, substance use disorder, intellectual disability, and autism.
  • Thank Governor Corbett for the commitment he made in his campaign to preserve services to people with human service needs, stating that it was a core responsibility of the state government.
  • Ask the governor to sustain/preserve/protect/maintain these services.
  • Example: I ask that you do everything possible to preserve and protect these life-sustaining services for some of Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable citizens.

Introduce Yourself to the Governor

  • Board Chair
  • How long have you served on the board of what organization?
  • How long have you served as chair of the board?
  • How many people with severe disability does your organization serve and how many people does your agency employ?
  • What do you see as the impact of the services your agency provides on the lives of the people your agency serves?
  • Is there someone in your family with a severe disability? If so, provide a brief comment.
  • Let the governor know how you make your living to provide additional credibility as a knowledgeable citizen of Pennsylvania.
  • Board Member
  • How long have you served on the board of what organization?
  • How many people with severe disability does your organization serve and how many people does your agency employ?
  • What do you see as the impact of the services your agency provides on the lives of the people your agency serves?
  • Is there someone in your family with a severe disability? If so, provide a brief comment.
  • Let the governor know how you make your living to provide additional credibility as a knowledgeable citizen of Pennsylvania.
  • Family Member
  • Introduce yourself to the governor as the proud parent of a son or daughter with a severe disability.
  • Explain the type of services that your son or daughter receives at this agency and/or other community-based agencies.
  • Explain how you have dedicated your life to your son or daughter, but how/why you can no longer provide the services that your son or daughter needs and why, therefore, community-based services are so important.
  • Provider CEO
  • Explain how long you have worked in this field and how long you have served in your present position.
  • Tell the governor how many people your agency serves and how many people your agency employs (full- and part-time).
  • Explain to the governor about the challenges of providing quality services without adequate cost-of-living adjustments or retained revenues.
  • Tell the governor how important community-based services are in the lives of the people you serve.
  • Provider Management Team Member
  • Explain how long you have worked in this field and how long you have served in your present position.
  • Tell the governor how many people your agency serves and how many people your agency employs (full- and part-time).
  • Tell the governor why you have dedicated your career to serving people with severe disabilities.
  • Direct Support Professional
  • Explain how long you have worked for this agency.
  • Tell the governor why you have dedicated yourself to caring for people with severe disabilities.
  • Tell the governor why it is so important to continue to provide adequate funding for these services.

Body of Letter

Pick one or more of the following points andPERSONALIZE IT/THEM by highlighting successful outcomes that have occurred as a result of community services.

  • Funds intended for behavioral health must be used for behavioral health. It is crucial to maintain theHealthChoices behavioral healthprogram, originally developed and implemented by the Ridge administration. This carve-out model, in place for more than13 years, has enabled significant savings due to the development and utilization of a network of community services, while improving access to and the quality of behavioral health services and supports. The savings have been achieved by ensuring that funding is directed to increasing the use of community-based outpatient services while minimizing the use of intensive and far more expensive services in institutional settings. Significantly, the HealthChoices behavioral health program has been able to stay well below the projected fee-for-service rate of medical cost increases. This is of particular importance in this challenging economic environment.
  • Home- and community-based services are cost-effective. Services provided in the community are much preferred by individuals and less costly than services provided in emergency and institutional settings, whether state centers, state hospitals, emergency rooms, jails, or prisons. An array of community-based services is needed to meet the varying needs of those living with mental illness, substance use disorder, intellectual disability, and autism. If these services are cut, recipients might be forced to enter state institutions, which cost more than twice as much as community services.Loss of funding for community services will shift costs to other parts of the system.
  • Adequate community behavioral health services cannot be sustained unless funding is maintained. The behavioral health system has, for years, suffered chronic underfunding. As the economy struggles the safety net must be repaired and maintained to meet increasing demand for behavioral health supports. State funding for behavioral health services was cut by more than $35 million in the 2010/11 budget, on top of cuts in the two previous budgets.
  • State government, together with federal matching funds, is the only source of funding for home- and community-based services for people with intellectual disability. As a result, Medicaid funding for these services cannot be reduced on the assumption that private insurance or other private sources will replace state and federal funding.
  • Veterans must have access to community behavioral health services. Veterans returning from service in Afghanistan and Iraq have significant need for behavioral health supports, particularly for post-traumatic stress disorder and substance use disorders. Many of these veterans are members or former members of the National Guard and Reserve Forces who live in communities across Pennsylvania. Access to community behavioral health services is key to their recovery. Veterans and their families deserve the support of the commonwealth and the communities for which they served.
  • Across-the-board cuts cannot be absorbed by providers. State payment policy has prevented providers of intellectual disability services from developing cash reserves, resulting in a financially fragile system that cannot absorb across-the-board cuts.Cuts in funding to providers will mean cuts in service. There are already lengthy waiting lists for people with disabilities to receive services. Any funding cuts will simply increase those waiting lists. Continued support should be provided for the waiting list.