Mar. 27, 2019
HARRISBURG – The House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee today unanimously passed legislation authored by Rep. Diamond (R-Lebanon) that would increase the efficiency of removing deceased persons from the PACE and PACENET databases by requiring greater communication between state departments.
House Bill 775 calls for the Department of Aging to cross-reference its list of beneficiaries with death records maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Health on a monthly basis.
“This issue came to my attention when I received a letter from PACE inviting my father, who had been deceased for more than two years, to apply for SNAP benefits. I considered not only the potential abuse which could result from such letters, but also the pain and anguish such a notification may cause survivors,” Diamond explained.
Currently, the Department of Aging consults with federal agencies to check for deceased applicants and enrollees. This can result in a significant delay in removing deceased individuals from those lists.
“With the advancement of technology, we can go one step further by accurately checking such records in a more timely manner to ensure we are not wasting time and resources offering benefit programs to residents who have already passed away,” Diamond added.
As the bill received unanimous committee support, it now goes before the full House for consideration.
This bill is a reiteration of House Bill 1588, which was passed the House unanimously during the 2017-18 Legislative Session.
Representative Russ Diamond
102nd Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Alison Evans
717.260.6206
aevans@pahousegop.com
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