PETITION FOR HOME CARE REFORM IN PENNSYLVANIA

Protect Our Elders. Strengthen Background Checks. Demand Adequate Staffing. Stop Fraud and Abuse.

To: Pennsylvania State Legislators, the Pennsylvania Department of Health, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, and All Responsible State and Federal Oversight Agencies

Our Mission: Better Care, Greater Accountability, and Dignity for Every Elder

We, the undersigned citizens, family members, advocates, and concerned members of our communities, call for meaningful reform of Pennsylvania’s home care system to protect our elderly population and ensure that every individual receiving care is treated with dignity, respect, compassion, and safety.

Our elders helped build our families, communities, and society. They deserve to age safely in their own homes, free from neglect, exploitation, abuse, and inadequate care. Yet families and caregivers can face serious concerns about the quality and consistency of home care, the screening and preparation of workers, staffing capacity, and the responsible use of money intended to provide care.

We believe that elder care must never be treated as merely a business opportunity. It is a responsibility that requires integrity, accountability, and genuine commitment to human life.

We are calling on Pennsylvania’s leaders to take action in the following areas.

1. Strengthen Employment Background Checks and Worker Screening

We demand stronger safeguards to help prevent vulnerable older adults from being placed at risk.

We call for:

Thorough and appropriate criminal background checks before workers are assigned to care for vulnerable adults, including verification of required state and federal criminal history records.
Appropriate checks of abuse and neglect registries, professional credentials, and legally available records relevant to the position.
Consistent verification of worker identity, employment history, references, and required qualifications.
Clear procedures for reviewing disqualifying offenses and credible allegations of abuse, neglect, theft, or exploitation, consistent with due process and applicable law.
Regular compliance audits to ensure agencies complete required screenings and maintain accurate personnel files.
Strong penalties for agencies that knowingly falsify, bypass, or fail to complete legally required background checks.
No older adult should have to depend on a caregiver whose required qualifications and eligibility have not been properly verified.

2. Require Home Care Agencies to Maintain Adequate Staffing

We demand that agencies accept clients according to their actual ability to provide safe, reliable, and appropriate care.

We call for:

Enforceable staffing-capacity standards based on the number of clients served, the hours of care authorized, the level of assistance required, and the availability of qualified workers.
Accurate records of scheduled visits, completed visits, missed visits, cancellations, and replacement coverage.
Reliable backup staffing plans for emergencies, employee absences, and unexpected shortages.
Timely notification to clients and families when scheduled care cannot be provided.
Regular reviews of whether an agency has sufficient qualified staff to meet its contractual and authorized service obligations.
Corrective action and meaningful penalties when agencies repeatedly accept more clients than they can responsibly serve.
Older adults should never be left without essential assistance because an agency has accepted more clients than its workforce can safely support.

3. Stop Insurance Fraud, Medicaid Fraud, and Misuse of Care Funds

We demand strong financial oversight to ensure that money intended for elder care actually supports elder care.

We call for:

Regular, risk-based audits of home care agencies receiving Medicaid, other public funding, or insurance payments.
Verification that billed services were authorized and actually delivered.
Accurate documentation of caregiver visits, hours worked, services provided, and payments received.
Appropriate use of electronic visit verification and other monitoring tools where required.
Thorough investigations of suspected fraudulent billing, false documentation, duplicate claims, kickbacks, and misuse of funds.
Recovery of improperly obtained payments and appropriate civil or criminal consequences when violations are established.
Protection for employees and other whistleblowers who report suspected fraud or abuse in good faith.
Every dollar designated for home care should be used lawfully and responsibly to support the people who need care. Public and insurance funds must not become a source of profit through deception, false billing, or services that were never provided.

4. Protect Elders From Neglect, Abuse, and Exploitation

We call for stronger safeguards to ensure that every older adult receives care that protects their health, safety, independence, and dignity.

We demand:

Clear procedures for reporting suspected abuse, neglect, exploitation, and unsafe conditions.
Prompt investigation of credible complaints and serious incidents.
Appropriate training for direct care workers in recognizing changes in condition, infection prevention, emergency response, confidentiality, and abuse reporting.
Respect for each client’s rights, preferences, privacy, and independence.
Accessible complaint procedures for clients, family members, and caregivers.
Stronger monitoring of agencies with repeated substantiated violations.
No elder should be ignored, mistreated, financially exploited, or left without essential care because oversight has failed.

5. Support and Protect Direct Care Workers

We recognize that qualified, dependable, compassionate caregivers are essential to a safe home care system. Protecting elders also means supporting the people who care for them.

We call for:

Appropriate training and competency verification before workers provide care.
Fair and lawful wages, accurate payroll, and compliance with overtime requirements.
Safe working conditions and reasonable procedures for reporting concerns.
Ongoing education and support for workers caring for clients with complex needs.
Accountability for agencies that fail to provide the staffing, training, and resources necessary for safe care.
We cannot build a better home care system by overlooking the workers who make that system possible.

6. Increase Transparency and Government Accountability

We call on Pennsylvania to strengthen public oversight and make it easier for families to make informed decisions and not wait too long to help the families that actually need it.

We demand:

Meaningful inspections and enforcement of existing home care regulations.
Public access, consistent with privacy laws, to agency licensing status and substantiated enforcement findings.
Clear information for families about how to file complaints and report suspected fraud or neglect.
Timely responses to serious complaints and transparent reporting of enforcement outcomes.
Regular review of whether current regulations adequately protect older adults as the need for home care increases.
When agencies fail to meet their obligations, there must be meaningful consequences. When agencies provide excellent care, their commitment should be recognized and supported.

Our Formal Request

We respectfully petition Pennsylvania lawmakers and the responsible oversight agencies to review existing laws, strengthen enforcement, and adopt additional protections where necessary.

We request a comprehensive review of background-check requirements, staffing capacity, missed-care safeguards, financial oversight, worker competency, complaint investigations, and penalties for proven violations.

We further ask that older adults, family caregivers, direct care workers, responsible home care providers, and community advocates be included in discussions about reform.

Our goal is not to punish honest providers. Our goal is to protect vulnerable people, support responsible caregivers, and hold any organization accountable when it places profits ahead of the safety and well-being of those in its care.

Our Promise to Pennsylvania’s Elders

We believe every older adult deserves to live with dignity, safety, compassion, and respect.

We believe families deserve confidence that their loved ones are receiving the care for which they qualify and that has been promised to them.

We believe direct care workers deserve the training, support, and resources necessary to do their jobs well.

And we believe public money and insurance payments intended for care must be protected from fraud, waste, and abuse.

Our elders are not numbers on a billing sheet. They are human beings with histories, families, memories, and lives that matter.

We urge Pennsylvania’s leaders to listen to families, protect our seniors, strengthen oversight, and make meaningful home care reform a priority.

Better Home Care. Safer Elders. Accountable Agencies. Dignity for All.

Signatures of Support

By signing this petition, we support stronger protections for older adults and meaningful reform of Pennsylvania’s home care system.

Name: __________________________________
City or County: __________________________
Signature: _______________________________
Date: ___________________________________
Additional signatures may be attached.

*Please share this petition with your community, elected representatives, and the agencies responsible for protecting Pennsylvania’s older adults.