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Accounting tricks that balanced Pa.’s budget — but only on paper

HARRISBURG — When Pennsylvania lawmakers passed a state budget on Sunday, leaders praised it for being a fiscally responsible $50.8 billion product that doesn’t dip into the state’s rainy day fund. That’s a misleading picture. To reach that number, they had to employ some accounting tricks. The biggest involves delaying two months’ worth of payments — each costing about $1.3 billion — to the state’s Medicaid managed care organizations. In the Capitol, it’s a process called a “cycle roll.” Managed care organizations, or MCOs, are responsible for organizing ...

AI threatens to remove the humanity from healthcare, according to doctor

Hummelstown retiree Mark Warble suspects, but doesn’t know, if AI is behind the significant changes he’s received in his prescription and the repeated deliveries — and charges — he has received for the medical supplies he did not order. And, as of right now, he doesn’t have a right to know. Current Pennsylvania law does not require healthcare providers to inform patients when AI is being used in their treatment. While patients may never think to ask, the medical field, like any other industry these days, is increasingly incorporating artificial intelligence. While AI ...

PGC asks public to report any wild turkey sightings

HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Game Commission is again asking the public to report sightings of all wild turkeys they see this summer. The annual Wild Turkey Summer Sighting Survey runs through Aug. 31. Public participation is important for wild turkey population management. These reports allow the agency to estimate how good the wild turkey ‘hatch’ was and compare long-term reproductive success within Pennsylvania and across states, as this is a standard methodology used across the country. Data also are used in a population model to track trends in wild turkey numbers. Wild ...

Lawmakers break without addressing unconstitutional murder sentences

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania lawmakers recessed Sunday without fixing the commonwealth’s unconstitutional sentencing scheme for second-degree murder, making it increasingly likely they will miss a deadline set by the state Supreme Court and leave the issue in limbo. A killing is considered second-degree murder if it occurs during the course of a violent felony, including robbery, rape, or arson. Someone can be found guilty of the crime if they participated in the underlying felony, even if their actions didn’t lead directly to another person’s death. Because of this, a person in ...

Lawsuits allege poor conditions at Blair County Prison

People who have been incarcerated inside the Blair County Prison say they encountered rodent droppings in food, poor access to medical care, and violence at the aging, overcrowded facility, a review of nearly 80 legal filings from the past year shows. Officials say many of these issues will be solved when the county moves out of the 157-year-old prison and into a new facility in 2029. The design for the $100 million prison — approved by the prison board but pending a land sale — includes exercise areas for all housing units, larger culinary and medical areas, and medical rooms to ...

Penn State, Downtown State College partner to honor veterans

STATE COLLEGE — Penn State University and the Downtown State College Improvement District are once again partnering to recognize veterans and active-duty service members through a Military Appreciation Month banner program. The annual initiative will allow families and friends to honor military members with personalized banners that will be displayed on lamp posts throughout downtown State College during November in recognition of Military Appreciation Month. The banners are scheduled to be installed in late October and will remain on display throughout November in both 2026 and ...