With monumental Medicaid changes looming, Pennsylvania braces for healthcare coverage losses

Roughly 2.8 million Pennsylvanians currently receive their healthcare through the Medicaid program, also called Medical Assistance. More than 200,000 people in Allegheny County are covered through Medicaid. “Historically whenever changes have been made programmatically to increase those barriers to enrollment, we see people who are eligible fall out of the program,” said Becky Ludwick, vice […]

Social services will get millions more from Pennsylvania’s new budget. Is it enough?

Rachael Hunter, policy director at the Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, based in Harrisburg, said maintaining adequate staffing levels is “not a new issue.” “County child welfare agencies have faced workforce recruitment and retention challenges for many years, and despite widespread recognition of the problem, there has been no comprehensive or concrete action taken to address […]

State Budget Delivers Modest Gains for the Early Learning Workforce but Leaves Out Critical Supports for Pennsylvania’s Youngest Children

HARRISBURG, PA (July 12, 2026) – Today, the principal partners of Early Learning Pennsylvania (ELPA), a statewide coalition of advocates, expressed appreciation for some small steps forward in addressing early education workforce shortages in the 2026–27 state budget. They also emphasized that the commonwealth must do far more to support programs such as infant and […]

Advocates, lawmakers weigh ways to keep Pa. kids insured as Trump Medicaid cuts loom

Roughly 5% of children in the commonwealth lack coverage — a stat that hasn’t budged since at least 2019, according to a recent report on child welfare by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a Baltimore-based research and policy group. Advocates told Spotlight PA that number could spike when the Medicaid changes go into effect. “There’s a […]

Federal cuts threaten child well-being in Pennsylvania, report says

Pennsylvania ranked 18th overall in child well-being, according to the 2026 Kids Count Data Book from the Annie E. Casey Foundation but advocates said federal cuts, which have not fully taken effect, could threaten recent gains. Kari King, president and CEO of Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, said the state’s improvements are driven largely by gains in health and insurance […]

H.R. 1: Mapping the Cuts

State of the Child

 

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