El Departamento de Servicios Sociales de Missouri prevé que unos 200,000 ciudadanos perderán sus prestaciones de Medicaid el próximo año. Esto se debe a que sus ingresos han aumentado lo suficiente como para dejar de cumplir los requisitos.

Mientras la emergencia de salud pública estaba vigente, los estados no podían eliminar a nadie de sus listas de Medicaid. Pero ahora que ha comenzado el "revertir", el departamento de Medicaid está reanudando las renovaciones anuales.

Kim Evans, anima a todos a asegurarse de que D-S-S tiene su información de contacto actual para que no se pasen por alto importantes formularios y solicitudes de información. Pueden hacerlo de varias maneras.

"Los individuos pueden ir en línea y reportar en mydss.mo.gov, nos pueden enviar un fax, o pueden escanear," dice Evans. "En nuestro sitio web tenemos un chat en vivo, y pueden reportarnos de esta manera también."

Evans señala que también hay un centro de recursos D-S-S en cada condado para aquellos que deseen ayuda en persona. Explica que las renovaciones se tramitarán el mes en que la persona cumplió con los requisitos inicialmente, a partir de junio. La primera ronda de formularios de renovación anual se enviará la primer semana de mayo y debe devolverse antes del 30 de junio.

Evans señala que hay dos circunstancias que pueden hacer que una persona reciba uno de estos formularios.

"Si no podemos verificar la información de la persona, o la información que recibimos es totalmente inelegible para Medicaid, le enviaremos un formulario de renovación anual," informa Evans.

Subraya que si no devuelven el formulario a tiempo, corren el riesgo de que se interrumpa la cobertura. Después de la fecha de vencimiento, tienen 90 días para presentar su información para que su caso sea reabierto.

Evans agrega que el Estado abrirá un nuevo portal para el cliente a principios de mayo, donde se colocarán todos los formularios y avisos futuros. Ella anima a inscribirse una vez que esté disponible.

"Así que podrán acceder a este formulario mismo que podrán revisar y hacer cambios," dice Evans. "Luego podrán enviarlo directamente a la agencia. Esa es realmente la forma en que queremos que todos completen sus formularios, porque eso llena el sistema."

Los que ya no reúnan los requisitos para Medicaid serán remitidos al Mercado para buscar un plan de seguro que les convenga.


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Last week, Senate Republicans unveiled reduced cuts to food assistance programs in their version of the budget bill.

The proposal from Senate Republicans cuts $211 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The reduction is $80 billion less than what was passed by House Republicans, but the program's supporters say even reduced cuts would still impact access to SNAP - formerly Food Stamps - around the nation.

Cassie Edner, public benefits attorney at the Virginia Poverty Law Center, said a focus on error rates in SNAP -- the rate of people being overpaid or underpaid for benefits -- is encouraging lawmakers to make it harder to get benefits or deny them altogether.

"There's an incentive to improperly deny and improperly terminate," said Edner. "There's an incentive to request more verifications, which is going to increase that cost of the administration share. And it's just going to make benefits harder to access in Virginia for people that are eligible, and it's going to increase denials for things like verification, not eligibility reasons."

While Republicans in the Senate have taken a smaller axe to the budget than their counterparts in the House, a majority still support efforts to cut government spending and provide tax cuts to wealthy Americans.

If the bill is passed and states must contribute more to SNAP, Edner said, that could mean higher taxes or cuts to benefits throughout Virginia.

"So this creates uncertainty with the program," said Edner. "We don't know what cuts are going to be made. We don't know if there's going to be an increase in taxes to cover these expenses. But something's gonna happen to have to cover these costs or either cut benefits. There's just uncertainty as to what that is."

More than 800,000 Virginians received SNAP benefits between October 2023 and September 2024, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

A new bill in the U.S. House of Representatives could make it easier for people to get job training while they're receiving federal food assistance.

It's hopeful news for the more than 800,000 Virginians receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.

The last Farm Bill made a change that allowed people getting SNAP benefits to pursue paid job training - but their wages for that training were counted against their monthly benefit amount, reducing or even ending their food assistance.

Leah Bacon, director of investment advocacy at the Center for Employment Opportunities, said this "unintended consequence" meant people had to choose between SNAP benefits and job training opportunities.

"For far too long, people have really had to make an impossible decision - to either put food on the table for themselves and their families, or invest in their future through workforce development," said Bacon. "That really can't be the status quo."

Supporters say the legislation would ensure people in temporary, paid job-training programs won't lose access to SNAP benefits. It has bipartisan support in Congress.

Bacon said the legislation could also affect people who've recently reentered society from prison.

An estimated 60% of people are unemployed for a year or more after their release - and they experience food insecurity at twice the rate of the general public.

"People need immediate stability, and by offering access to a paying job and food security - through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program," said Bacon, "these are really key ways in ensuring that people have the right tools as they transition back into society."

The bill was introduced in late April and is in the House Committee on Agriculture.




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Today is National Caregivers Day, recognizing those who help friends or family members who are living with an illness, injury or disability.

A 2024 report painted a picture of Montanans who rely on public assistance, a picture largely populated by caregivers.

The report, commissioned by the Headwaters Foundation, found about one in four Montana families, or 120,000, received income-based public assistance in a given year after Medicaid expansion. It noted most are working families with children, or family members who are older or disabled.

Bryce Ward, founder of ABMJ Consulting, compiled the report.

"It's not hard to imagine how they got into this situation," Ward pointed out. "They're just low-income workers or the people for whom it's hard to work. They're old or disabled, or they have kids or other caregiving responsibilities."

Medicaid expansion is getting a lot of attention in the current Montana Legislature. House Bill 245, which would continue the program beyond its original June sunset date, was referred to the Senate Committee on Finance and Claims yesterday after passing the House earlier this month.

A big takeaway from the report is there is no "typical" participant in public assistance and many who need it use it for brief time periods. Ward cautioned conversations in the policy and media spaces can have what he called a "dehumanizing element." He hopes the report will change it.

"These populations include all the different types of people in Montana," Ward stressed. "You probably know lots of people who have, or are on, income-based public assistance."

The median family of three with income around the poverty line receives about $400 a month in benefits, according to the report.


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