Many LV Legislators Ignoring Gracedale, Cedarbrook Crisis

Gracedale and Cedarbrook are two of just 23 publicly owned nursing homes that still exist in Pennsylvania. Most have a Medicaid occupancy rate of over 75%. Unlike private homes, they must accept Medicaid patients from the onset, and they thus provide an important safety net for some of the state's most vulnerable citizens. But unlike private homes, the counties are required to pay ten per cent of this Medicaid cost. In the case of a place like Gracedale, that's about $2.5 million per year. State Representative Tom Killion, a Republican from Newtown Square, has proposed legislation that will eliminate this requirement and make it easier to keep Gracedale and Cedarbrook county-owned. Though this bill is supported by some members of the Lehigh Valley delegation to the state house, and is endorsed by the state county commissioners association,  I am astonished to see that many of the people's supposed representatives don't give a shit.

The Good

Members of the LV delegation to the state house who support Killions's bill are Joe Emrick, Bob Freeman, Marcia Hahn, Julie Harhart and Danny McNeill. That's three Republicans and two Democrats.

The Bad

Members of the LV delegation who have ignored this bill are Gary Day, Ryan Mackenzie, Steve Samuelson, Mike Schlossberg, Pete Schweyer and Justin Simmons. That's three Republicans and three Democrats who can't be bothered.

The Ugly

Mike Schlossberg's failure to sponsor this legislation is totally irresponsible. He apparently thinks he's in office to foster the desires of J.B. Reilly and Fed Ed instead of the many people in his district who fall between the cracks. What is especially appalling about this lapse is that one of his aides, Geoff Brace, is a Lehigh County Commissioner.

Don't you guys talk?

Lehigh County Commissioners are blown' oil right now over the financial crisis at Cedarbrook. What they should do is adopt a resolution calling on State representatives in Lehigh County to start helping Cedarbrook, instead of ignoring it.