FILE - Shown is the Pennsylvania state Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., Feb. 6, 2024. The Pennsylvania House speaker said Monday, March 18, 2024 she wants to let qualified residents register at polling places on the day of elections and to permit two weeks of advanced voting for everyone. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, file)
FILE - Shown is the Pennsylvania state Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., Feb. 6, 2024. The Pennsylvania House speaker said Monday, March 18, 2024 she wants to let qualified residents register at polling places on the day of elections and to permit two weeks of advanced voting for everyone. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, file)
Aired; June 4th, 2025.
Listen to the podcast to hear the full interview.
A coalition of Pennsylvania providers is urging lawmakers to include a $13 million funding increase in the upcoming state budget to support residential rehabilitation services for individuals with traumatic brain injuries. If approved, the state investment would unlock an additional $17 million in federal Medicaid matching funds, bringing the total to $30 million.
“These programs are chronically underfunded,” said Dr. Richard Edley, President and CEO of the Rehabilitation and Community Providers Association. “We’re not pulling this number out of the air. It’s based on a real calculation to catch up to the rates paid for comparable services in other areas, like those for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.”
An independent study recently commissioned by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services confirmed what providers have long warned: brain injury services are underfunded by 44%.
“Quite frankly, they could use more money,” Edley added. “But in the scope of billions being spent and talked about, this is a very reasonable request.”
Despite over a decade of advocacy, the sector hasn’t seen a funding increase in 13 years. Providers say the issue continues to fly under the radar.
“When the budget negotiations occur, we get lost in the sauce,” said Jack Poplar, Executive Director of a brain injury rehabilitation facility. “Legislators listen, and I believe many want to do the right thing. But when it’s time to negotiate the budget, we get forgotten.”
The lack of funding has led to a shrinking network of providers, waitlists for care, and closures of group homes across the state.
“This isn’t theoretical anymore,” Edley said. “Programs are collapsing. People are waiting. And when they don’t get services, they end up in emergency rooms, psychiatric hospitals, or even the prison system.”
Poplar emphasized the urgency: “We’re not a large group of providers. It’s our job to keep reminding lawmakers: don’t forget us. What we do is incredibly important.”
