September 2020 Missouri Benefit Report Issued
Mediocre effort yields mediocre results.
The Missouri Department of Social Services just issued the September 2020 Monthly Management Report for the Family Support Division and the MO HealthNet Division.
They earn one point for getting the data out quickly. That raises their grade to a D – for their part of Missouri’s response to COVID-19.
Remember, each day more unemployed workers age off unemployment pay. With the federal pandemic subsidy now gone, that would point to a growing need by unemployed parents to apply for Temporary Assistance. Indeed, since the 2015 revisions to the program unemployed people with kids needing help getting work are supposed to be Temporary Assistance’s prime target.
Yet, the number of Missourians receiving TA dropped in September compared to this July and August! Back in September 2010 – still in the shadow of the 2008/2009 economic catastrophe – Missouri had 108,466 citizens (including 36,450 parents) on TA. This September? 22,241 with 5,566 parents. Alas, poverty and want have not been reduced by 80% over the past decade, no, what’s changed is the state’s willingness to help struggling families.
Oh yes, the number of Missourians getting food stamps amid the pandemic is 5.6% lower than the number helped in September 2019. Sorry, no idea why.
Let’s compare this September’s report with the numbers from two years ago…
September Missouri Benefits
2020 2018
Temporary Assistance
Kids 16,675 18,616
Parents 5,566 5,463
Total 22,241 24,079
Payments $2,221,062 $2,320,790
Per Family $ 238.39 $ 224.12
Per Day $ 7.95 $ 7.47
MO HealthNet [Medicaid]
Enrolled 991,054 939,162
Covered 982,389 992,460
Payments $915,606,580 $729,572,415
Per Patient $ 932.02 $ 735.12
Managed Care 703,132 721,937
Premium $ 287.87 $ 241.86
Food Stamps [SNAP]
Participants 752,531 714,356
Benefits $131,515,561 $85,392,105
Per Person $ 174.76 $119.54
Per Meal $ 1.94 $ 1.33
https://dss.mo.gov/re/pdf/fsd_mhdmr/1809-family-support-mohealthnet-report.pdf
About once a week I cook up hamburgers for lunch, using ground chuck patties from Kenrick Meats. The price went up this last trip, and, even finding hamburger buns at eight for $1.99 the cost of a burger at lunch is now $2.91 before condiments or a slice of American cheese (+ 22¢), meaning a home cooked burger costs a buck more than a food stamp recipient’s per meal benefit. In other words, don’t expect folks to eat well or much on food stamps.
Glenn