By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — When the enhanced federal Food Share benefits are removed, Dunn County residents who are receiving the benefit will lose about $1.4 million every two months.
In March and April of 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, Dunn County residents were receiving $691,000 in Food Share benefits for the two-month period, said Kris Korpela, director of Dunn County Health and Human Services, at the Dunn County Health and Human Services Board meeting June 24.
In March and April of 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, the amount of Food Share money being disbursed to Dunn County residents almost doubled, she said.
By March and April of this year, the amount of Food Share benefits disbursed to Dunn County residents was three times as much, Korpela said.
Under normal circumstances, when someone applies for Food Share or Medicaid, that person has to supply a significant amount of documentation to prove eligibility for the programs, and there would be a regular review of the eligibility, Korpela said.
Many of those rules have been suspended during the pandemic, which made Food Share and Medicaid very accessible, she said.
The changes related to a smaller amount of documentation and fewer reviews of eligibility will not last forever, and when the programs revert back, it will be frustrating and confusing for people, Korpela said.
For anyone who had an increased income for the last 18 months and then suddenly loses that increase in income, it will be frustrating and difficult to manage, and will be especially difficult for people operating at a lower income level, she said.
If people have been receiving an extra $95 per month per child for the last year as a regular part of their benefit package and then the extra money goes away, “it will be harder for people to deal with,” Korpela said.
In response to a question about whether Korpela knew how many of the newly eligible will remain eligible, Korpela pointed out that some people who previously did not receive benefits came onto the program during the pandemic and continued receiving benefits even if they went back to work because there were no reporting requirements.
Others who started receiving benefits will truly be new recipients, she said.
Grocery stores
The reduction in Food Share benefits will affect the food industry and grocery stores and will have “a ripple effect,” said Diane Morehouse, county board supervisor from Menomonie and chair of the health and human services board.
Kwik Trip, for example, has been doing “an amazing amount of business” because of the benefit cards since the convenience stores carry items like milk, eggs and cheese that are less expensive than at the grocery store, Korpela said.
Korpela gave an example of a disabled family member who was receiving $17 per month in Food Share before the pandemic and is now receiving $167 per month.
Losing that amount of money “will be a big hit,” said David Bartlett, county board supervisor from Boyceville and chair of the Dunn County Board.
Right now, Food Share is a month by month renewal, and that could change at any time, Korpela said.
Households also have been receiving an increased allotment of 15 percent, and that is expected to go until the end of September. The 15 percent enhanced benefit per household could go until the end of the year, but is expected to end in September, she said.
Korpela noted that it also is not known when the review and renewal requirements will be reinstated.
Nursing homes
Nursing homes also could be significantly impacted by changes to Medicaid.
If someone qualified for Medicaid close to or during the pandemic and did not have to provide all of the information they would have typically provided and then went to The Neighbors, they could lose their Medicaid coverage when they have to provide the documentation after the requirements are reinstated, Korpela said.
If they lose their Medicaid, then they would not have a payment source for their nursing home care, she said.
Nursing homes have rules about once someone is admitted, that person cannot be tossed out onto the street, but it is impossible to know what that will look like and how it will affect nursing homes, Korpela said.
Over the past decade, low Medicaid reimbursement rates that do not cover the cost of care for nursing homes in Wisconsin have contributed to some nursing homes closing down and have contributed to other nursing homes closing some of their units.
