Two state departments will be excluded from merger proposal

A proposal to merge four state agencies into a Department of Health and Human Services will not include Pennsylvania’s Department of Aging or its Department of Drugand Alcohol Programs.

As part of a budget proposal, Gov. Tom Wolf had put forth a plan to unify the state’s departments of aging, health, drug and alcohol programs and human services into one Department of Health and Human Services, saying it would provide better and more streamlined services as well as savings.

The idea had faced resistance from some advocates and legislators who feared the loss of a “voice.”

“There was just a lot of concern ... in members of the Legislature’s minds that this was moving way too quickly,” said Rep. Gene DiGirolamo, R-Bucks, chairman of the House Human Services Committee.

“Especially in this epidemic of opiates and heroin, doing away with the lead agency and burying it in a large bureaucracy, I think people thought that wasn’t a good idea,” said Mr. DiGirolamo, who was the sponsor of the bill that created the Department Drug and Alcohol Programs, which became an agency in 2011.

“It was a matter of sheer size and volume of the agency, and a concern for too much at one time,” said Jennifer Kocher, a spokeswoman for Senate Republicans.

Although the budget deal legislators approved last week includes savings from combining the departments of health and human services, that merger must still be approved by legislation. A timeline for when that would happen is unclear.

“We need to be able to take our time and make sure that we are doing this correctly,” Ms. Kocher said.

Legislators last week passed a nearly $32 billion spending bill for the fiscal year that began July 1, but still must pass a revenue plan to pay for it.

Sen. Judy Schwank, DBerks, the prime sponsor of the merger legislation in the Senate, said she believes the idea to merge all the agencies could be revisited in the future.

“Especially in this epidemic of opiates and heroin, doing away with the lead agency and burying it in a large bureaucracy, I think people thought that wasn’t a good idea.” — Rep. Gene DiGirolamo, R-Bucks