Record Number in Government Anti-Poverty Programs
One in Six Americans Receive Aid from Government Anti-Poverty
Programs
Government anti-poverty programs that have grown to meet the needs of
recession victims now serve a record one in six Americans and are
continuing to expand.
More than 50 million Americans are on Medicaid, the federal-state
program aimed principally at the poor, a survey of state data by USA
TODAY shows. That's up at least 17% since the recession began in
December 2007.
"Virtually every Medicaid director in the country would say that their
current enrollment is the highest on record," says Vernon Smith of
Health Management Associates, which surveys states for Kaiser Family
Foundation.
The program has grown even before the new health care law adds about 16
million people, beginning in 2014. That has strained doctors. "Private
physicians are already indicating that they're at their limit," says Dan
Hawkins of the National Association of Community Health Centers.
More than 40 million people get food stamps, an increase of nearly
50% during the economic downturn, according to government data through
May. The program has grown steadily for three years.
Caseloads have risen as more people become eligible. The economic
stimulus law signed by President Obama last year also boosted benefits.
"This program has proven to be incredibly responsive and effective,"
says Ellin Vollinger of the Food Research and Action Center.
Close to 10 million receive unemployment insurance, nearly four times
the number from 2007. Benefits have been extended by Congress eight
times beyond the basic 26-week program, enabling the long-term
unemployed to get up to 99 weeks of benefits. Caseloads peaked at nearly
12 million in January — "the highest numbers on record," says Christine
Riordan of the National Employment Law Project, which advocates for
low-wage workers.
More than 4.4 million people are on welfare, an 18% increase during the
recession. The program has grown slower than others, causing Brookings
Institution expert Ron Haskins to question its effectiveness in the
recession.
As caseloads for all the programs have soared, so have costs. The
federal price tag for Medicaid has jumped 36% in two years, to $273
billion. Jobless benefits have soared from $43 billion to $160 billion.
The food stamps program has risen 80%, to $70 billion. Welfare is up
24%, to $22 billion. Taken together, they cost more than Medicare.
The steady climb in safety-net program caseloads and costs has come as a
result of two factors: The recession has boosted the number who qualify
under existing rules. And the White House, Congress and states have
expanded eligibility and benefits.
Conservatives fear expanded safety-net programs won't contract after
the economy recovers. "They're much harder to unwind in the long term,"
says Michael Tanner of the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank.
Other anti-poverty experts say the record caseloads are a necessary
response to economic hardship. "We should be there to support people
when the economy can't," says LaDonna Pavetti of the Center on Budget
and Policy Priorities, a liberal-leaning think tank.
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