Here's a link to an article where Representative Eachus makes the claim that he is introducing legislation in 2005 to add 500,000 seniors to the PACE and PACENET programs. In that article Eachus massages the seniors and makes them believe he is going to add 500,000 seniors to PACE/PACENET through the inclusion of Medicare Part D legislation.
In 2006 the House passes legislation and Rendell makes the claim Pennsylvania will add 120,000 seniors to the program. Here is a sounbite from the House Democratic Caucus website touting the 120,000 additional seniors claim.
In 2009 Eachus and Rendell proffer to the seniors they wants to add 30,000 more.
In the end the mass inclusion of seniors into the PACE/PACENET progam never happened. According to this chart from the 2008 PACE annual report you will see that enrollment remained steady through 2008.
Three times seniors were promised a benefit that never materialized. While House Majority Leader Eachus and Governor Rendell were enjoying a robust prescription program seniors were forced to pay for their medications in the Medicare Part D donut hole when inclusion in the PACE/PACENET program would have prevented that added expense.
Is this political gamesmanship and should we allow this practice to be politics as usual? Why should we allow politicians to decieve the public?
Something has to change in Harrisburg. We know the legislature is not going to change unless the public is educated and forces them to. If the voters remove the incumbents who are abusing the system it will send a clear message that it is not politics as usual.
Rendell is laughing as Eachus looks on. Maybe the joke will be on them come November. Enough of their "crying wolf".
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