Whether you’ve turned on the news, scrolled social media, or simply gone to the grocery store, you’ve become acutely aware that the cost of living has significantly increased for all Americans. This can be largely attributed to factors such as housing market trends, steadily increasing prices for consumer goods and services, and increasing consumer debt.
The burden of these increased prices is felt across economic lines, as consumers have continued to experience rising inflation rates over the last few years. The Consumer Price Index, a measure of the change over time in prices paid by consumers for goods and services, increased 3.1% from January 2023 to 2024, following an increase of 6.4% from January 2022 to 2023.
Food prices, in particular, have increased steadily. In 2023, food prices increased by 5.8%, following a 2022 increase of 9.9%. Americans are feeling this burn elsewhere, too, as U.S. consumer debt is also up. As of May 2024, total U.S. consumer debt is $17.69 trillion, up 1.1% from the end of 2023. All of these factors could increase the pressure on social service agencies as they strive to support people in need.
With all these increases in expenses, many Americans are more dependent than ever on social infrastructure. Social safety net benefits — such as Medicaid/Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), public housing and more — play a pivotal role in supporting those facing economic hardships. For example, in the month of April 2024 alone, 41.5 million people received SNAP benefits. Furthermore, more than 82.7 million individuals — or almost 1 in 4 people — were enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP as of March 2024.
Modernizing the government benefits application process
With so many people relying on government assistance, the agencies that operate these crucial social safety net programs need data-driven technology to deliver efficient, effective and user-friendly services. The right platform can improve the application process for agencies and the people who rely on them. While 81% of federal IT mission leaders reported in 2023 that their agency has not achieved major digital modernization goals, digital solutions, like automated income and employment verification services, can offer these government agencies a long-term data solution.
For example, shorter income and employment verification periods can help applicants receive the right-sized benefits they need faster, even as agencies responsible for processing applications manage staffing shortages and an increasing number of applications for assistance. The availability of technology to assist with the application process can therefore help quickly review and decide on applications.
Data solutions can help agencies that administer or support government benefits programs, specifically when adopting an automated income and employment verification system to help speed up the application process. Automation can help alleviate the processing challenges presented by understaffed offices and may dramatically improve how quickly eligible applicants in need can receive assistance.
Historically, benefit application processes have been challenging for potential recipients, requiring many to provide paystubs, complete lengthy verification-related paperwork, and engage in time-consuming, manual verification processes managed by often under-resourced staff. Commercial verification solutions, on the other hand, can help caseworkers incorporate current data — as of the time payroll was last processed by a contributing employer or payroll provider — into the eligibility determination process, returning results instantaneously. These solutions can help agencies streamline the entire application process, from initial determinations through renewals, and can even help decrease unnecessary procedural terminations.
When agencies rely on public data sources, such as state quarterly wage data, those sources may be anywhere from 30 to 120 days old. Outdated data complicates matters for benefits recipients as it can lead to wrongful rejections, additional manual processes, and lengthy timelines for eligibility decisions. For example, let’s say a benefit applicant is mistakenly found to be ineligible for Medicaid services using stale data from a public data source. That beneficiary would then be required to apply for a hearing to challenge the ineligibility determination, placing the entire burden of verifying their eligibility on the individual. Unlike public sources, data from third-party solution providers can be current, as of the last time the participating employer or payroll provider processed payroll.
With ex parte and automated renewals, states must first complete a process to renew cases using available data. The more current data sources are used in this process, the more agencies can improve their ex parte renewal rate. This can help eligible individuals retain benefits and minimize gaps in coverage. With effective and efficient automated renewals, limited agency staff are freed to focus on more complex cases while also helping eligible people get the benefits they need in a timely fashion.
Conclusion
Americans are facing increasing costs of living and reduced household income, which may lead to an increased demand for government benefits. While some agencies are adopting and modernizing their digital capabilities, others still rely on cumbersome and slow manual processes. Investing in data-driven digital technology, such as automated verification solutions, can solve manual process challenges and relieve the burden on caseworkers. The people who rely on these services may also benefit from more effective and rapid determinations, which can help improve their quality of life.
Juan Cole is Vice President, Government Strategy and Solutions Consulting at Equifax Workforce Solutions. He leads a service architect team that supports clients in state and federal government agencies that help minimize the administrative burdens that impact under-resourced agencies. Juan has over 25 years of experience deploying data-driven solutions for government agencies, including CMS, USDA, SSA, Navy, DHS, and others.
Rising cost of living drives need for digital determinations processes
With all these increases in expenses, many Americans are more dependent than ever on social infrastructure.
Whether you’ve turned on the news, scrolled social media, or simply gone to the grocery store, you’ve become acutely aware that the cost of living has significantly increased for all Americans. This can be largely attributed to factors such as housing market trends, steadily increasing prices for consumer goods and services, and increasing consumer debt.
The burden of these increased prices is felt across economic lines, as consumers have continued to experience rising inflation rates over the last few years. The Consumer Price Index, a measure of the change over time in prices paid by consumers for goods and services, increased 3.1% from January 2023 to 2024, following an increase of 6.4% from January 2022 to 2023.
Food prices, in particular, have increased steadily. In 2023, food prices increased by 5.8%, following a 2022 increase of 9.9%. Americans are feeling this burn elsewhere, too, as U.S. consumer debt is also up. As of May 2024, total U.S. consumer debt is $17.69 trillion, up 1.1% from the end of 2023. All of these factors could increase the pressure on social service agencies as they strive to support people in need.
With all these increases in expenses, many Americans are more dependent than ever on social infrastructure. Social safety net benefits — such as Medicaid/Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), public housing and more — play a pivotal role in supporting those facing economic hardships. For example, in the month of April 2024 alone, 41.5 million people received SNAP benefits. Furthermore, more than 82.7 million individuals — or almost 1 in 4 people — were enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP as of March 2024.
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Modernizing the government benefits application process
With so many people relying on government assistance, the agencies that operate these crucial social safety net programs need data-driven technology to deliver efficient, effective and user-friendly services. The right platform can improve the application process for agencies and the people who rely on them. While 81% of federal IT mission leaders reported in 2023 that their agency has not achieved major digital modernization goals, digital solutions, like automated income and employment verification services, can offer these government agencies a long-term data solution.
For example, shorter income and employment verification periods can help applicants receive the right-sized benefits they need faster, even as agencies responsible for processing applications manage staffing shortages and an increasing number of applications for assistance. The availability of technology to assist with the application process can therefore help quickly review and decide on applications.
Data solutions can help agencies that administer or support government benefits programs, specifically when adopting an automated income and employment verification system to help speed up the application process. Automation can help alleviate the processing challenges presented by understaffed offices and may dramatically improve how quickly eligible applicants in need can receive assistance.
Historically, benefit application processes have been challenging for potential recipients, requiring many to provide paystubs, complete lengthy verification-related paperwork, and engage in time-consuming, manual verification processes managed by often under-resourced staff. Commercial verification solutions, on the other hand, can help caseworkers incorporate current data — as of the time payroll was last processed by a contributing employer or payroll provider — into the eligibility determination process, returning results instantaneously. These solutions can help agencies streamline the entire application process, from initial determinations through renewals, and can even help decrease unnecessary procedural terminations.
When agencies rely on public data sources, such as state quarterly wage data, those sources may be anywhere from 30 to 120 days old. Outdated data complicates matters for benefits recipients as it can lead to wrongful rejections, additional manual processes, and lengthy timelines for eligibility decisions. For example, let’s say a benefit applicant is mistakenly found to be ineligible for Medicaid services using stale data from a public data source. That beneficiary would then be required to apply for a hearing to challenge the ineligibility determination, placing the entire burden of verifying their eligibility on the individual. Unlike public sources, data from third-party solution providers can be current, as of the last time the participating employer or payroll provider processed payroll.
With ex parte and automated renewals, states must first complete a process to renew cases using available data. The more current data sources are used in this process, the more agencies can improve their ex parte renewal rate. This can help eligible individuals retain benefits and minimize gaps in coverage. With effective and efficient automated renewals, limited agency staff are freed to focus on more complex cases while also helping eligible people get the benefits they need in a timely fashion.
Conclusion
Americans are facing increasing costs of living and reduced household income, which may lead to an increased demand for government benefits. While some agencies are adopting and modernizing their digital capabilities, others still rely on cumbersome and slow manual processes. Investing in data-driven digital technology, such as automated verification solutions, can solve manual process challenges and relieve the burden on caseworkers. The people who rely on these services may also benefit from more effective and rapid determinations, which can help improve their quality of life.
Juan Cole is Vice President, Government Strategy and Solutions Consulting at Equifax Workforce Solutions. He leads a service architect team that supports clients in state and federal government agencies that help minimize the administrative burdens that impact under-resourced agencies. Juan has over 25 years of experience deploying data-driven solutions for government agencies, including CMS, USDA, SSA, Navy, DHS, and others.
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