Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
USDA's Proposed Food Stamp Rule Targets Automatic Eligibility, Would Result In 3 Million People Losing Benefits
The Washington Post: USDA Proposes SNAP Change That Would Push 3 Million Americans Off Food Stamps
The U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed new rules Tuesday to limit access to food stamps for households with savings and other assets, a measure that officials said would cut benefits to about 3 million people. In a telephone call with reporters, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and Acting Deputy Under Secretary Brandon Lipps said the proposed new rules for the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) were aimed at ending automatic eligibility for those who were already receiving federal and state assistance. (Reiley, 7/23)
CNN: Food Stamps: Trump Administration Proposal Could Kick 3 Million Off Snap Benefits
The Agriculture Department issued a proposed rule Tuesday that curtails so-called broad-based categorical eligibility, which makes it easier for Americans with somewhat higher incomes and more savings to participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, the formal name for food stamps. It is the administration's latest step to clamp down on the food stamps program, which covers 38 million Americans, and other public assistance services. It wants to require more poor people to work for SNAP benefits, and it is looking to change the way the poverty threshold is calculated, a move that could strip many low-income residents of their federal benefits over time. (Luhby, 7/23)
Bloomberg: Trump Administration Moves To End Food Stamps For 3 Million
“We are changing the rules, preventing abuse of a critical safety net system, so those who need food assistance the most are the only ones who receive it,” he added. Conservatives have long sought cuts in the federal food assistance program for the poor and disabled. House Republicans tried to impose similar restrictions on the food stamp program last year when Congress renewed it but were rebuffed in the Senate. The proposed change in rules for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program -- often called by its former name, food stamps -- would deliver on the goal as the administration has agreed to a deal to lift caps on federal spending. (Dorning, 7/23)
CQ: USDA Seeks To Narrow Eligibility For Food Stamps
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the draft rule published in Tuesday’s Federal Register will end what he and congressional Republicans say is a loophole that allows people with gross incomes above 130 percent of the poverty level to become eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and potentially qualify for food stamps through the program. They can do so by receiving nominal assistance from the nation’s federal welfare program such as a referral to services or a brochure from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, run by the Health and Human Services Department. The Government Accountability Office has raised questions about the use of TANF-financed referrals and brochures being used by states to trigger SNAP eligibility. (Ferguson, 7/23)
Meanwhile —
The Wall Street Journal: When The Safety Net Pays For Itself
The U.S. spends trillions every year on a social safety net for people in all steps of life, from childhood to retirement. A new study from two Harvard University economists, Nathaniel Hendren and Ben Sprung-Keyser, examines 133 U.S. policy changes over the past half-century, including the creation of Medicare, Medicaid expansions, the introduction of food stamps, as well as dozens of state and local programs. (Oh and Adamy, 7/22)
