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Homeless Death Review: Cutting General Assistance, repealing ACA could have severe consequences
Of the 90 homeless who died (at an average age of 53), some had "well over 500 encounters with shelters, hospitals and other public systems. Still, these individuals remained homeless at a high cost to the public."
Homeless Death Review: Cutting General Assistance, repealing ACA could have severe consequences
Philadelphia recently published its first "Homeless Death Review" and the result is a portrait of a safety net that's both inefficient and fragile in the face of anticipated cuts to state welfare programs and the potential repeal of the federal Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare).
Of the 90 homeless who died (at an average age of 53) in 2009 and 2010 and were included in the review, many did utilize medical care and other services, and some had "well over 500 encounters with shelters, hospitals and other public systems. Still, these individuals remained homeless at a high cost to the public," the report found.
The review found 55 percent of those who died had no health-care coverage, and raise worries that this figure could soon become even more dire as state and federal cuts loom ahead. Gov. Tom Corbett has proposed to eliminate General Assistance — the one-time, nine-month cash assistance program Pennsylvania offers — and to cut two-thirds of GA-related Medical Assistance funding. If that happens when the fiscal 2013 budget is finalized, "many of those who have health insurance today can expect to lose their coverage. The implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will become critical." Moreover, even notifying people that they've lost their health-care coverage could prove an insurmountable challenge, without addresses and phone numbers to use.
The city has already developed action plans for some of the findings, including adding residential drug-treatment beds. A new emphasis on housing-first initiatives like 100K Homes Philly for mentally ill individuals, and a planned overhaul fo the supportive housing system toward a "single-portal" approach could help some chronic homeless. But more needs to be done, the report urges: A "medical respite" plan to offer both shelter and medical support for those being discharged from hospitals could help ensure that those with chronic or debilitating conditions end up back on the streets, then back at the ER, in yet another potentially fatal cycle.
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