On June 13, the PA Behavioral Health (BH) Coalition sent a letter to PA Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Jake Corman (R-Centre County) expressing serious concern regarding proposed cuts to behavioral health services. The BH Coalition, a coalition of statewide organizations including PARF, asked that the Governor’s proposed level of funding be sustained during budget negotiations. The BH Coalition noted that Governor Corbett’s proposed budget protected funding for behavioral health services to the extent possible while the recently passed House proposal does not protect such funding. The House budget included significant cuts to the Behavioral Health Services Initiative (BHSI) and the Medical Assistance Transportation Program (MATP). Also, the House budget proposal cuts $1 million dollars from the Department of Health Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Programs for the administrative costs that would be incurred in establishing a new Department of Drug and Alcohol. The BH Coalition recommends that the establishment of a newly designated department be put on hold. FMI: Contact PARF at parfmail@parf.org.
