Missouri Department of Social Services January 2021
Monthly Management Report for Family Support Division & MO HealthNet
Well, we really didn’t expect Missouri to be a leader in getting aid to families still struggling due to the Covid economy, did we? While other states look for ways to help families, Missouri chugs along, doing what the federal government mandates or deeply encourages.
As a result, while the average food stamp benefit amount soared in January, the number getting SNAP fell – again.
Meanwhile, in the legislature, Republicans look to enact stricter work requirements for those getting food stamps, even though previous efforts going back to the 1990’s and FUTURES always failed because Missouri lacks the state staff and infrastructure to administer the system and actually help families. Plus, you can only get a good paying full time job if an employer has an open full time job for which you’re qualified, and, the position is within a reasonable distance to where you live.
In other words, a computer programmer opening in Kansas City doesn’t help a single mom without a GED in Chariton County.
Let’s look at total participation in the two primary assistance programs…
January 2021 January 2020 January 2019 January 2018
Temp Assistance 19,585 21,371 22,860 26,697
Food Stamps 692,593 658,410 707,672 749,877
Both Temporary Assistance and SNAP/food stamps ought to grow in rough economic times and shrink when the economy improves: please raise your hand if you feel economic conditions were better this January than in 1/18!
Missouri, as state policy, doesn’t give a damn about poor people or working class families. These stats prove that, no matter what the majority party claims.
Another example: Missouri voters approved Medicaid Expansion. The state response is to create a ‘separate yet equal’ track for the newly eligible, the Adult Eligibility Group (AEG in DSS speak). The legislature plans to fund AEG through a separate line item than other Medicaid services, meaning money for the working adults can be cut while leaving the rest of MO HealthNet intact.
So, don’t be surprised if expansion becomes a non-starter because the legislature claims they can’t afford to do what the people ordered them, by vote, to do.
In other news, despite expecting a couple of hundred thousand additional patients to cover, DSS is reducing its staff count by hundreds of workers in the budget for next year, and, the head of Medicaid has tap danced his way off the stage just as things get busy.
Don’t expect to see many Missouri Republican legislators when you get to Heaven.
Missouri January Benefits
2021 2019
Temporary Assistance
Children 14,835 17,655
Adults 4,750 5,205
Total 19,585 22,860
Benefits $1,815,297 $2,198,367
Per Family $ 218.29 $ 222.33
Per Day $ 7.04 $ 7.17
MO HealthNet
Enrolled 1,039,754 904,679
Covered 1,033,321 940,143
Cost $769,855,901 $839,763,607
Per Patient $ 745.03 $ 893.23
Managed Care 755,531 663,688
Per Patient $287.76 $248.16
Food Stamps
Participants 692,593 707,672
Benefits $146,701,431 $82,636,822
Per Person $ 211.81 $ 116.77
Per Meal $ 2.28 $ 1.26
https://dss.mo.gov/re/fsd_mhdmr.htm
In December 2020 the average food stamp benefit per person was $186.08 / $2.00. While Washington did get a bit more generous, the posted numbers for 1/21 may get revised.
Also, I suspect that in January 2019 Medicaid/MO HealthNet had one of their “catch-up” months, paying a lot of ‘past due’ bills to providers, inflating the total cost.
Glenn