Consolidating its financial management services for Medicaid recipients, the PA Department of Public Welfare may drastically cut the number of organizations that offer financial help, according to a news release.

In Pennsylvania, the DPW has 37 such organizations that offer financial management services, but that number could be cut to as few as three as early as April.

“In this time when the economy requires funding cuts on both state and federal levels, we need to be more efficient,” DPW Secretary Gary Alexander said in a news release. “Consolidating this system will help lower the overall price of services, produce cost savings for the state programs and ensure compliance with state and federal laws.” 

However, DPW spokeswoman Anne Bale told the PA Independent this month she did not know what the cost savings would be. 

In an Independent article, Pennsylvania Coalition of Citizens With Disabilities director Linda Anthony talked about the move.

"To impose this, along with the mandate for those who are receiving food stamps to prove their assets, is only the beginning of the dismantling of the Department of Welfare," Anthony said. 

Despite that mandate, some said the move will hurt the delivery of services. 

The transition will "primarily impact people with disabilities in a waiver program who use the cash counseling model," said Kathy Cubit of the Philadelphia-based Center for Advocacy For the Rights and Interests of the Elderly, whose mission is improving the quality of life for vulnerable older people. 

To read the original release, visit the DPW website.