HARRISBURG — A Pittsburgh-area lawmaker lamented Tuesday the “absolutely tragic” anguish of people with little money and serious dental problems, telling state officials about phone messages left for a local dentist from Medicaid recipients with “pain that you can hear in their voices.”
The comments from state Rep. Emily Kinkead, D-Allegheny, came during a legislative hearing on Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposed $19 billion budget for the Department of Human Services — the agency with the single largest slice of the Democratic governor’s overall $44.4 billion budget plan. Some Republican lawmakers questioned the effectiveness of fraud prevention in the state’s Medicaid program and, all told, the department team led by Acting Human Services Secretary Val Arkoosh answered questions for more than four hours.
Ms. Arkoosh, a physician and former Montgomery County commissioner, said Pennsylvania once had a fully funded dental program for lower-income residents, but it was discontinued in 2011. She estimated it would cost about $170 million to reinstate it.