WEBVTT NOTE duration:"00:02:57.6660000" NOTE recognizability:0.908 NOTE language:en-us NOTE Confidence: 0.90563214 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.190 So mistakes happen, how they're handled NOTE Confidence: 0.90563214 00:00:02.190 --> 00:00:04.540 can have some real consequences. NOTE Confidence: 0.90563214 00:00:04.540 --> 00:00:06.676 New report out today shows that NOTE Confidence: 0.90563214 00:00:06.676 --> 00:00:08.618 Colorado 64 counties made mistakes NOTE Confidence: 0.90563214 00:00:08.618 --> 00:00:10.418 when issuing SNAP benefits. NOTE Confidence: 0.90563214 00:00:10.420 --> 00:00:12.116 Food stamps, mistakes that NOTE Confidence: 0.90563214 00:00:12.116 --> 00:00:14.236 ultimately tended to benefit the NOTE Confidence: 0.90563214 00:00:14.236 --> 00:00:16.140 people receiving the benefits well NOTE Confidence: 0.90563214 00:00:16.140 --> 00:00:18.650 till they're told to pay it back, NOTE Confidence: 0.90563214 00:00:18.650 --> 00:00:21.420 Marshall Zelinger explains. I NOTE Confidence: 0.90792525 00:00:21.420 --> 00:00:23.406 am weird. I find grocery shopping NOTE Confidence: 0.90792525 00:00:23.406 --> 00:00:24.709 relaxing, especially this aisle, NOTE Confidence: 0.90792525 00:00:24.709 --> 00:00:26.647 but for more than a quarter NOTE Confidence: 0.90792525 00:00:26.647 --> 00:00:28.367 million households in the state, NOTE Confidence: 0.90792525 00:00:28.370 --> 00:00:30.030 grocery shopping is more stressful. NOTE Confidence: 0.90792525 00:00:30.030 --> 00:00:32.016 Based on how much money is NOTE Confidence: 0.90792525 00:00:32.016 --> 00:00:33.340 on their government issued NOTE Confidence: 0.90792525 00:00:33.340 --> 00:00:34.995 food stamp card, its entire NOTE Confidence: 0.90792525 00:00:34.995 --> 00:00:36.650 purpose is to help families. NOTE Confidence: 0.90792525 00:00:36.650 --> 00:00:38.300 Low income families purchase healthy NOTE Confidence: 0.907925250000001 00:00:38.300 --> 00:00:40.407 food. Liz Riley Sanders is with the NOTE Confidence: 0.907925250000001 00:00:40.407 --> 00:00:42.242 Colorado Center for Law and Policy NOTE Confidence: 0.907925250000001 00:00:42.242 --> 00:00:43.982 which just released a report on NOTE Confidence: 0.907925250000001 00:00:43.982 --> 00:00:46.354 issues it found with the state's NOTE Confidence: 0.907925250000001 00:00:46.354 --> 00:00:47.566 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance NOTE Confidence: 0.90792525 00:00:47.570 --> 00:00:49.220 Program SNAP. The vast majority NOTE Confidence: 0.90792525 00:00:49.220 --> 00:00:50.540 of overpayment claims are NOTE Confidence: 0.90792525 00:00:50.540 --> 00:00:52.388 a result. Of agency error NOTE Confidence: 0.9074166 00:00:52.390 --> 00:00:54.180 in Colorado. Each county is NOTE Confidence: 0.9074166 00:00:54.180 --> 00:00:55.970 responsible for the snap benefits. NOTE Confidence: 0.9074166 00:00:55.970 --> 00:00:58.142 In January, all counties combined issued NOTE Confidence: 0.9074166 00:00:58.142 --> 00:01:00.630 more than $126 million in SNAP benefits. NOTE Confidence: 0.9074166 00:01:00.630 --> 00:01:02.772 So who's eligible people making less NOTE Confidence: 0.9074166 00:01:02.772 --> 00:01:04.922 than 200% of the federal poverty NOTE Confidence: 0.9074166 00:01:04.922 --> 00:01:07.070 level for a household of four? NOTE Confidence: 0.9074166 00:01:07.070 --> 00:01:09.218 That's a monthly income of $4400. NOTE Confidence: 0.9074166 00:01:09.220 --> 00:01:11.050 The snap benefit would be up NOTE Confidence: 0.9074166 00:01:11.050 --> 00:01:13.462 to $835 for a household of 6A NOTE Confidence: 0.9074166 00:01:13.462 --> 00:01:15.688 monthly income of about 6000 with NOTE Confidence: 0.9074166 00:01:15.688 --> 00:01:18.168 a snap benefit of almost 1200, NOTE Confidence: 0.9074166 00:01:18.170 --> 00:01:20.010 and this report found Colorado NOTE Confidence: 0.9074166 00:01:20.010 --> 00:01:21.482 counties are to blame. NOTE Confidence: 0.9074166 00:01:21.490 --> 00:01:24.026 For overpayments 2/3 of the time in one NOTE Confidence: 0.8975432 00:01:24.030 --> 00:01:25.338 particular case, agency error NOTE Confidence: 0.8975432 00:01:25.338 --> 00:01:27.300 resulted in over $3000 that was NOTE Confidence: 0.8975432 00:01:27.354 --> 00:01:29.184 over issued to beneficiary and they NOTE Confidence: 0.8975432 00:01:29.184 --> 00:01:31.000 had to ultimately pay that back. NOTE Confidence: 0.8975432 00:01:31.000 --> 00:01:32.896 Yeah, even if the recipient does NOTE Confidence: 0.8975432 00:01:32.900 --> 00:01:34.485 not know they got more NOTE Confidence: 0.8975432 00:01:34.485 --> 00:01:36.070 than they were supposed to, NOTE Confidence: 0.8975432 00:01:36.070 --> 00:01:37.820 they have to pay back up to NOTE Confidence: 0.8975432 00:01:37.820 --> 00:01:39.469 a year's worth of overpayment NOTE Confidence: 0.8975432 00:01:39.469 --> 00:01:41.137 after it's discovered there NOTE Confidence: 0.8975432 00:01:41.140 --> 00:01:43.044 should be some sort of policy that NOTE Confidence: 0.8975432 00:01:43.044 --> 00:01:44.273 does not penalize beneficiaries NOTE Confidence: 0.8975432 00:01:44.273 --> 00:01:46.053 for the government making a NOTE Confidence: 0.8975432 00:01:46.053 --> 00:01:47.477 mistake on their benefits. NOTE Confidence: 0.8975432 00:01:47.480 --> 00:01:49.650 One of the things that we're calling NOTE Confidence: 0.8975432 00:01:49.650 --> 00:01:51.581 for is that the state, actually. NOTE Confidence: 0.8975432 00:01:51.581 --> 00:01:53.036 Does further investigation to get NOTE Confidence: 0.8975432 00:01:53.036 --> 00:01:55.009 to the bottom of what is causing NOTE Confidence: 0.8975432 00:01:55.009 --> 00:01:56.527 this high rate of agency error? NOTE Confidence: 0.92458826 00:01:58.480 --> 00:02:00.475 The report also spells out issues with NOTE Confidence: 0.92458826 00:02:00.475 --> 00:02:01.957 SNAP beneficiaries and court confusing NOTE Confidence: 0.92458826 00:02:01.957 --> 00:02:03.673 process is not enough legal help. NOTE Confidence: 0.92458826 00:02:03.680 --> 00:02:05.130 Often, according to the report, NOTE Confidence: 0.92458826 00:02:05.130 --> 00:02:06.888 the county wins because the beneficiaries NOTE Confidence: 0.92458826 00:02:06.888 --> 00:02:09.168 may not be prepared with the best process. NOTE Confidence: 0.92458826 00:02:09.170 --> 00:02:10.330 So I find out. NOTE Confidence: 0.92458826 00:02:10.330 --> 00:02:12.348 OK, let's say you did get overpayment. NOTE Confidence: 0.92458826 00:02:12.350 --> 00:02:14.090 How do you pay it back? NOTE Confidence: 0.92458826 00:02:14.090 --> 00:02:16.682 Well, you could just pay it back lump sum, NOTE Confidence: 0.92458826 00:02:16.690 --> 00:02:18.706 which probably is not going to happen. NOTE Confidence: 0.92458826 00:02:18.710 --> 00:02:20.180 It's possible you can negotiate NOTE Confidence: 0.92458826 00:02:20.180 --> 00:02:21.985 with the county or they start NOTE Confidence: 0.92458826 00:02:21.985 --> 00:02:23.375 deducting from your snap card NOTE Confidence: 0.92458826 00:02:23.375 --> 00:02:25.650 no more than 10% at a time. So NOTE Confidence: 0.92458826 00:02:25.650 --> 00:02:28.090 the benefit you need starts to go away. NOTE Confidence: 0.92458826 00:02:28.090 --> 00:02:29.749 Slowly feel like this is the kind NOTE Confidence: 0.92458826 00:02:29.749 --> 00:02:31.168 of situation where, like you report NOTE Confidence: 0.92458826 00:02:31.168 --> 00:02:32.584 on it and then state legislators NOTE Confidence: 0.92458826 00:02:32.584 --> 00:02:34.248 come in there like that's jacked up. NOTE Confidence: 0.92458826 00:02:34.250 --> 00:02:35.910 We'll fix it. It's possible, but a NOTE Confidence: 0.89814365 00:02:35.910 --> 00:02:37.230 lot of this is also intertwined NOTE Confidence: 0.89814365 00:02:37.230 --> 00:02:38.759 with federal law or federal rules, NOTE Confidence: 0.89814365 00:02:38.760 --> 00:02:40.176 at least, and it's required federally. NOTE Confidence: 0.89814365 00:02:40.180 --> 00:02:41.602 I'm told that you have to NOTE Confidence: 0.89814365 00:02:41.602 --> 00:02:42.550 pay back the overpayments. NOTE Confidence: 0.89814365 00:02:42.550 --> 00:02:44.286 There are limitations on how far back NOTE Confidence: 0.89814365 00:02:44.286 --> 00:02:46.099 the state can go to get that money, NOTE Confidence: 0.89814365 00:02:46.100 --> 00:02:46.984 but this is this. NOTE Confidence: 0.89814365 00:02:46.984 --> 00:02:48.710 Just a cursory look at this report. NOTE Confidence: 0.89814365 00:02:48.710 --> 00:02:50.478 I want to dig into like how are NOTE Confidence: 0.89814365 00:02:50.478 --> 00:02:51.788 these counties getting it wrong? NOTE Confidence: 0.89814365 00:02:51.790 --> 00:02:52.980 Which counties are the worst? NOTE Confidence: 0.89814365 00:02:52.980 --> 00:02:54.541 So this is not the last you're NOTE Confidence: 0.89814365 00:02:54.541 --> 00:02:55.820 going to hear about this. NOTE Confidence: 0.89814365 00:02:55.820 --> 00:02:57.000 Alright, good after it, Marshall. NOTE Confidence: 0.89814365 00:02:57.000 --> 00:02:57.666 Thank you.