Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare

July 5, 2011

Mr. Gary D. Alexander

Secretary of Public Welfare

Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare

P.O. Box 2675

Harrisburg, PA 17105-2675

Re: Medical Assistance Transportation Program (MATP)

Dear Secretary Alexander:

Congratulations on your confirmation as Secretary of Public Welfare with the responsibility of looking after the welfare of Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable citizens.

I write on behalf of a Coalition of stakeholder organizations, identified below, who are concerned with the potentially devastating impact of therecent and abrupt decision by MATP (MATP OPS #06-2011-023) to discontinue subsidized transportation services to people attending psychiatric rehabilitation services (PRS). There are currently over 4,050 persons with serious mental illnesses in PRS throughout Pennsylvania. Many PRS providers from across the state estimate that, on average, 50% of their program participantswho are enrolled in HealthChoices , are dependent upon MATP services and will not be able to attend their programs without MATP.

The number of people in PRS has increased rapidly over the last several years, because PRS is less costly; produces more effective recovery outcomes in assisting individuals achieveliving, learning and employment goals; and produces greater satisfaction ratings and sense of empowerment among people in recovery. The commonwealth’s Offices of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) and Office of Medical Assistance Programs (OMAP), as well as the managed care organizations encouraged this growth and the transition from more costly and less effective services.

Behavioral Health providers across the commonwealth invested in significant programmatic and staffing changes to shift the focus to PRS. MATP serviceswere a key component of the consumer’s opportunity to choose these services andof their recovery success through these programs. This sudden elimination of MATPwill not only eliminate access to these programs for many participants, but will quickly impact the overall financial viability of the entire program and the potential failure of programs and loss of beneficial services.

The Coalition recognizes the financial pressures which brought about the reassessment by MATP and the fact that PRS is not a Medicaid in-plan service. However, the abandonment of transportation to PRS programs will force providers and consumers back to less desirable, much more costly Medicaid-eligible services for which MATP is available. We believe that this will both decrease service quality and significantly increase the cost to DPW.

MATP, upon consideration of these facts and potential impact, has decided to temporarily suspendMATP OPS #06-2011-023 and continue to allow transportation services to providers in Philadelphia, pending analysis of the budgetary impact and the effect on consumers and providers. THE STAKEHOLDER COALITION, NAMED BELOW, STRONGLY URGES THAT THE COMMONWEATTH CONTINUE MATP FOR PSYCHIATRIC REHABILITATION FOR A MINIMUM OF 90 DAYS PENDING A SIMILAR STATEWIDE ANALYSIS.

Impact data is needed in order to reduce harm to the people who use PRS. The requested 90 day continuation of MATP for these services will give the department more time to collect and analyze the data in a way that will benefit people working on mental health recovery, while recognizing fiscal constraints. We will contact your office in early July to schedule a meeting with you and your staff to discuss ways in which we can work together to address this urgent problem.

On Behalf of the Coalition,

Daniel L. Sylvester, LSW, CPRP

Executive Director of PAPSRS

(610) 565-3044

Coalition Members:

Mental Health Association in PennsylvaniaContact: Sue Walther

Mental Health Association of Southeastern PennsylvaniaContact: Debbie Plotnick

Pennsylvania Community Providers AssociationContact: George Kimes

Pennsylvania Mental Health Consumers AssociationContact: Lynn Keltz

Pennsylvania Behavioral Health and Aging CoalitionContact: Lynn Patrone

MH/MR Program Administrators Association of PennsylvaniaContact: Kristen Goshorn

Pennsylvania Association of Rehabilitation FacilitiesContact: Gene Bianco

JEVS Human ServicesContact: Mark J. Davis

The Philadelphia CoalitionContact: Polly Schaller

Cc:Izanne Leonard, OMAP Acting Deputy Secretary

Sherry H. Snyder, OMHSAS Acting Deputy Secretary

Tyrone Williams, MATP Director

Todd Shamash, Deputy Chief of Staff