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Three 3 top employees out at welfare agency
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Gov. Tom Corbett's administration has terminated three top employees of the Department of Public Welfare, several weeks after the departure of the agency's secretary who was an advocate for welfare austerity measures and opposed an expansion of Medicaid to extend taxpayer-paid health care to hundreds of thousands of uninsured Pennsylvanians.
A department spokeswoman, Carey Miller, declined Monday to say why the men lost their jobs, calling it a personnel matter.
Terminated were Philip Abromats, the executive director of audits and regulatory affairs, and special assistants Erik Randolph and Ron Semerjian. Former Secretary Gary Alexander's last day was Feb. 15.
Mr. Abromats said in an interview that he was fired without notice Friday and not told why. Mr. Randolph was fired Friday, as well, while Mr. Semerjian was fired Monday, according to the Corbett administration.
The terminations occur as Mr. Corbett is under pressure to do something about health care, as more than half the nation's governors join the Medicaid expansion under the 2010 Affordable Care Act, consider it or look for alternatives.
First Published March 12, 2013 12:00 am
