DUNCANSVILLE — Increased investment by the state in home health care services could help people live more independently and contribute more to their communities, said those gathered Friday at the Duncansville Community Center.

During a roundtable discussion centered on the health care industry, more than a dozen health care providers and local residents spoke about the advantages of having proper care in a home setting. The discussion was facilitated by state Sen. Judy Ward and state Rep. Scott Barger, along with Hearts for Homecare.

The event was the 14th and penultimate discussion held across the commonwealth by Hearts for Homecare, a legislative advocacy group organized by BAYADA Home Health Care’s government affairs office.

From the 13 previous stops on the discussion tour, Laura Ness said that she has consistently heard that access to home health care services is important to tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians.

“I think for a lot of our legislators (who have attended the meetings) it’s been important to see the benefit of home health care services and the impact of what it means to have a reliable home health care worker,” said Ness, the deputy executive director of Hearts for Homecare, which uses H4HC as its moniker.

Participants at Friday’s meeting unanimously called for increased state funding and Medicare reimbursement rates for service providers.

Jorden McClure, who has Larsen Syndrome and uses home health care services, said if state funding improved and allowed him to receive more skilled nursing support, he would be able to live more independently from his parents.

McClure said he attended the event to advocate for increased funding for home health care services, which would directly improve the quality of life of people like him who benefit from these care options.

The benefits of home health care extend beyond the individual receiving services, Ness said, as it allows whole families to stay together, relatives to work more and people to contribute to their communities more comprehensively.

According to Ward, it is “shocking” that entry-level service workers at businesses like Sheetz can earn more in hourly wages than home health care providers.

This pay discrepancy can lead to early-career health care professionals leaving the industry in search of better pay in less-stressful positions.

Ward said that the proposed 2025-26 state budget is among the worst she has seen during her time as a legislator, and could lead to Pennsylvania falling off a “fiscal cliff.”

This includes key priorities like health care going underfunded, she said.

“Nursing homes are struggling, intellectual disability care is struggling, home health care businesses are struggling and we are struggling to help our most vulnerable people,” Ward said.

One idea for “out of the box” thinking that may be required to help address persistent, industrywide staff retention issues could be to revamp state licensure requirements, she said.

Over the pandemic, Pennsylvania relaxed administrative requirements and fast-tracked licensing for certain types of medical workers to fill critical openings in health care facilities.

While it would be necessary to maintain standards regarding quality of care and relevant accreditation, Ward said that a similar effort could be redeployed to help address current concerns in the home health care industry.

Barger, who was elected in 2024 to represent the 80th District which includes much of Blair County, said that legislative advocacy groups like H4HC help freshmen legislators get up to speed on complex issues.

As a self-professed “fiscal conservative,” Barger said that while he supports increased fiduciary oversight of state government spending, making investments in critical sectors like health care can pay dividends for years to come.

“I believe there are expenses that are ‘pay now, save later’ kind of thing, where we can be saving taxpayer dollars in the long run by doing a better job of keeping people in their homes,” Barger said.

Caring for elderly relatives at home can represent a cost savings compared to a nursing home or hospice center, Barger said, so it is important to support home health care services that enable that process.