Pa. Treatment Providers, Others Sue State Over Budget Cuts

A group of Pennsylvania human-services organizations has sued Gov. Ed Rendell over his veto of $12.9 billion in state spending, claiming the cuts represented an unconstitutional and illegal “withholding” of state and federal funds, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported Sept. 11.

The plaintiffs are addiction, mental health, foster-care, and other service providers, including NHS Philadelphia, NHS Pennsylvania, NHS Youth Services Inc., the Wordsworth Academy, Tabor Children’s Services Inc., and the Philadelphia Alliance.

The suit points out that Rendell vetoed all state spending for behavioral health services other than those paid by Medicaid, but left intact funding to pay state workers’ salaries and public-safety services.

“The governor decided it was all right to pay state employees for their services, but it was not all right to pay independent third parties for theirs,” said attorney Joseph T. Kelley, Jr.

“The plaintiffs are also doing the state’s work and they should be paid, too,” added Philadelphia Alliance executive director Tim Wilson. “At some point we’ll have to stop providing the services, and that’s when people will start getting hurt.”