Asset Tests for Public Assistance Likely to Pass
It looks like some form of new asset testing for public assistance will become law, unless legislators begin to feel pressure from the people they represent. Senate File 494, which is ready for debate in the House, requires household asset tests for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (called Hawk-I), the Supplemental Food Assistance Program (SNAP), or the Family Investment Program (FIP). There is currently no asset test for HAWK-I. The State already has a federally approved asset verification process for Medicaid, but it is for the individual, not the entire household. .
To continue receiving public assistance, a household cannot have more than $15,000 in assets. The value of your House and retirement savings are not counted. One car plus a second car that is worth no more than $10,000 are also not counted. Any other “asset” owned by someone living in the house would be counted. Here’s one example that was used by an advocate during a recent meeting:
Grandma lives with you because she needs a live-in caregiver.
She owns a cabin in rural Iowa. The value of that cabin could count against
her grandchild’s eligibility for food assistance and health insurance.
Iowans would only be given ten calendar days from the day a notice is mailed to respond. Failure to respond could mean a disruption in assistance for those still eligible but not able to “prove it” in the ten-day window. During a public hearing held on this bill, a parent of two sons with autism spoke about the potential impact on her children.
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You can read her statement here and watch her testimony here.
There are a lot of questions about these bills that are not getting answered. People who support the bill say they want to make sure only people eligible for help are getting it. The savings they get from eliminating “waste and fraud” could be used to provide more services to those who are eligible. Those who oppose the bill say that the 10 days people are given to respond to “discrepancies” is not enough time to find the documents needed to prove they are still eligible. They say the savings would be from people who are eligible, but just could not do the additional paperwork in time to avoid losing services.
As approved, the bill would require the state to hire 217 staff, spend $5.5 million to upgrade computer systems, and use $7 million in taxpayer dollars to hire a private company to do the database checks. The state is expected to pay nearly $20 million over two years to put this in place. After three years, the state is expected to save $8.1 million. Almost all the savings comes from Medicaid. An estimated 8,000 Iowans will lose their Medicaid coverage, and 2,800 will no longer get help to buy food.
The Iowa DD Council, Disability Rights Iowa, Brain Injury Alliance of Iowa, United Way, Food Bank Association, Iowa Hunger Coalition, Iowa Community Action Agencies, and many health professional groups are opposed to the bill. Only three organizations support it: Opportunity Solutions Project, Iowans for Tax Relief, and Americans for Prosperity.
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