The Senate Finance and Taxation Committee held public hearings on two bills introduced last week by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur. Both bills passed out of committee.
SB245 and SB246 both address eligibility and database cross-checking for Medicaid and food assistance programs such as SNAP.
SB245 would explicitly prohibit the Alabama Medicaid Agency from “accepting certain self-attestations or eligibility determinations” and mandate that the Alabama Department of Human Resources enter into data-matching agreements to “cross-check food assistance eligibility with other data relating to income, employment, assets, and other relevant information.”
The agency and department would then be asked to publish data from fraud and noncompliance investigations on a regular basis.
“It doesn’t reduce eligibility, doesn’t reduce any of the terms, it just says that we are going to check what is represented by the applicant using the databases that are available to use,” Orr told me.
We’ll do cross-checks, we’ll check against certain databases that we already have in place, and we’ll recheck if, say, someone gets a job and the economic situation changes.”
According to a fiscal note attached to the bill, the bill as written would increase the Alabama Medicaid Agency’s obligations by at least $2.7 million in state share dollars. ADHR would receive an additional minimum of $12.7 million to “redetermine eligibility monthly for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.”
Carol Gundlach, a senior policy analyst at Alabama Arise, spoke out against the bill, arguing that it would eliminate presumptive eligibility.
The House and Senate have passed companion bills HB89 and SB102, introduced by Rep. Marilyn Lands, D-Huntsville, and Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Birmingham, respectively, to grant pregnant women Medicaid eligibility.
Coleman-Madison inquired about how this bill would interact with her own, particularly in terms of cost savings for the state. She stated that the state would either pay for preventative care or cover the potential long-term consequences of expecting mothers not receiving prenatal care.
“I’m certainly open to making sure we don’t get into a wrinkle here with those pieces of legislation,” Orr told reporters.
Sen. Merika Coleman, D-Pleasant Grove, expressed concern about voting for this bill without learning about the current eligibility processes in place at the agencies the bill would affect.
“The majority of folks are passing legislation to fix a problem that we don’t actually have,” Coleman told reporters. “I don’t want us to have to come back as a body and undo something that the majority passes because there are some unintended consequences.”
SB245 passed the committee with a vote of 11 to 3.
SB246 would prohibit ADHR from using broad-based categorical eligibility when granting SNAP benefits. Under current law, certain households are categorically eligible for SNAP benefits due to their “eligibility for other public assistance, benefits, or services, including certain noncash or in-kind benefits.”
“Alabama should follow the lead of states like Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas, which do not use the broad base categorical eligibility loophole and simply enforce the federal asset test to limit food stamps to truly needy and encourage able-bodied adults to work,” commented Orr.
SB246, as proposed, would increase ADHR administrative costs by an estimated $14 million due to the increased workload for determining SNAP eligibility.
The bill could result in a decrease in SNAP enrollment, though the exact number is unknown because it depends on how many households currently qualify through categorical eligibility but may no longer meet the revised criteria.
Gundlach spoke against the bill, explaining to the committee that the administrative costs of conducting these asset tests frequently outweigh the benefits, resulting in state spending to save federal dollars.
“This is an antiquated federal regulation that almost no state in the country follows. “It makes no sense for Alabama to get into this,” said Gundlach.
Last year, 44 states used this process to help low-income families apply for SNAP benefits.
“I really wish there was another option, Senator Orr, and I’m sure we could come up with one if we could all sit down and not just look at what other states are doing.” Governor Ivey always said, ‘We’re going to have to find Alabama solutions to Alabama problems.’ “Every state is unique,” said Coleman-Madison.
The bill passed the committee with a favorable report of 10-4.
