By ALISTER MARTIN and TARA MENON
If a friend asked you which state, Massachusetts or Texas, has a more streamlined federal benefit enrollment program, what would you guess?
After examining more than 17,000 families and helping them get more than $1.8M in federal and state assistance through our work in Massachusetts and Texas, our experience doing federal benefit enrollment has brought us to a surprising conclusion: Texas leads the way. While Massachusetts has room for improvement, this problem goes beyond a single state—many other states face similar challenges with complex and fragmented benefit systems.
At Link Health, where our work spans the bustling neighborhoods of Boston and Houston, this revelation was both a shock and a call to action. In many underserved communities, through our partnership with Federally Qualified Health Centers, our organization seeks to assist eligible individuals in navigating and enrolling in benefit programs that address essential needs such as affordable internet access, food access, health support, and resources house.
One of the main obstacles we encounter is that people often don’t know about the benefits they qualify for or find the process overwhelming. In states like Massachusetts, separate applications are required for each benefit program, making it more difficult for families to get the help they need. Programs such as LIHEAP, which offers heating subsidies, Lifeline, which provides internet access for telehealth, and SNAP, which provides food assistance, all have different documents and requirements. This fragmentation creates unnecessary obstacles.
This is not unique to Massachusetts. In the US, many states have similar disjointed systems, leaving millions of dollars in federal aid unclaimed. It is estimated that approximately $140 billion in federal aid goes unclaimed each year due to these inefficiencies.
In contrast, we have found that Texas’s “Texas Benefits” platform is efficient and user-friendly. This centralized and comprehensive application process covers a variety of state benefit programs, including SNAP, TANF, Medicaid, and CHIP, as well as other services like WIC, family violence support, adult education, and substance abuse prevention programs. This integrated system allows users to apply for various programs through a single portal, greatly streamlining the process. Additionally, this common application system allows groups like ours to efficiently connect patients with the help they need without the usual bureaucratic involvement – ​​a win-win for both of us.
Although Massachusetts has made some progress with limited common applications for MassHealth and SNAP by 2021, it still does not offer a unified system for all programs. This means that many citizens must constantly navigate various applications and processes. During the recent Medicaid “unwinding,” people in the US lost coverage because they couldn’t manage the renewal process. It is estimated that between 8 million and 24 million people are at risk of losing Medicaid benefits nationwide (Centers for Children and Families), not because they are no longer eligible, but because of application challenges.
The solution is clear: using a unified, user-friendly platform like the Texas public application system will help reduce the barriers that prevent people from accessing support and essential services.
To try and address these gaps, our team at Link Health is using artificial intelligence (AI) to transform the way benefits are delivered in Massachusetts. We’ve partnered with AI experts and students from Northeastern’s AI for Impact Program to develop technology solutions that mimic a unified app experience to earn more than $18,000 per year in multiple benefits. However, despite these advances, these are only Band-Aid solutions to larger systemic problems. States must commit to building an integrated system from scratch.
Encouragingly, Massachusetts also recently mandated the development of a secure public application portal for need-based benefits. This is a step in the right direction.
States like Massachusetts have long been recognized for their progress in health and social welfare. Now is the time to extend this progress to our benefits system. Adopting a common application across the country will demonstrate a commitment to expanding the impact of available aid and empowering citizens to take control of their financial well-being.
Let’s take the lessons from Texas to heart and push for changes that can improve thousands of lives, both in Massachusetts and across the US It is our responsibility together to ensure that those who need it can access a full range of resources without unnecessary obstacles America, we can do better.
Dr Alister Martin is an emergency physician and CEO of A Healthier Democracy. Tara Menon is a medical student at Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine.
