New proposals would cut automatic eligibility and alter heating
allowances
by Kenneth
Terrell, AARP,
November 12, 2019
En español | More than 600,000 households
with a person 60 or older could lose automatic eligibility for federal
assistance that helps them pay for food if proposed changes to the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) take effect. Another proposal could reduce
SNAP benefits for many families due to changes in how much they can deduct for
utility costs.
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) currently
is considering making several changes to how a household's eligibility for and
benefit allotments in the SNAP program — commonly known as food
stamps — are determined. Currently, in 39 states and the District of Columbia,
a family can become automatically eligible for SNAP if they already are
receiving other types of aid for low-income households. The USDA says that this
practice, known as broad-based categorical eligibility (BBCE), has let some
people get food stamps even though their income or assets might otherwise be
too high to qualify.
"Too often, states have misused this
flexibility without restraint,” said Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue when
he announced the proposed change.
But advocates for low-income families say the
proposed change could hurt many vulnerable families. According to the USDA's
estimates, more than 3.1 million people in 2020 could lose benefits if the
proposed BBCE regulation takes effect. A separate analysis from the policy
think tank Mathematica found that more than 619,000 of the households that
would be removed from the program included at least one elderly adult.
Some of those households removed by the
proposed change might still be able to receive SNAP benefits, but they would
have to apply directly to the program.
"Curtailing BBCE policy would
disproportionately harm older adults and could negatively impact millions of
low-income Americans who currently receive SNAP benefits,” says the AARP Public
Policy Institute in its assessment of the proposed change. “Those [adults] who
remain eligible and new SNAP applicants would likely have to go through more
red tape to get the food assistance they need, affecting both beneficiaries and
the state employees who must administer the changes."
"Processes that make enrollment and
reporting easier and help overcome the barriers that keep older Americans from
accessing the food assistance they need are important for reducing food
insecurity among older adults,” says AARP Legislative Counsel and Director of
Legislative Policy for Government Affairs David Certner, in a letter sent to
the USDA.
The public comments period for the proposed
BBCE change recently ended. More than 21,600 comments were submitted, with
thousands coming from the members of the group Parents Together Action. Their
comments largely objected to how the change in eligibility requirements could
affect children's access to free or reduced-price meals at school. In response
to that campaign, the department did another analysis of the proposed change
and found that 96 percent of children would still be eligible for reduced-price
or free meals if the new policy was enacted. Advocates for lower-income
families say the proposed rule could still cause many families to go through
more red tape to collect benefits.
In a separate proposal, the USDA announced it
is considering changing how the costs of heating or cooling a home affects a
family's SNAP benefits. The USDA is planning to replace the various methods
that states use to calculate their standard utility allowance with a more
uniform, national method. It is a change that could heavily impact families in
Northeastern states who have to heat their homes during long winters, some
experts say.
According to the USDA, under the new formula,
19 percent of SNAP recipients would have their benefits reduced, while 16
percent would see an increase. The rule could disproportionately affect older
adults, with 26 percent of households with people 60 and older seeing a
reduction in benefits and 21 percent seeing an increase. Approximately 8,000
families would lose eligibility for SNAP completely.
The comments period for the change to the
proposed utility allowance change ends Dec. 2.
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