Latest news with #TemporaryAssistance
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
How to sign up for a free air conditioner in New York City
NEW YORK (PIX11) — With temperatures starting to reflect the fast-approaching summer season, New Yorkers are encouraged to take advantage of the Cooling Assistance benefit that opened on April 15. The benefit provides eligible households with financial assistance to help cover the cost of installing an air conditioner or fan. More Local News Eligible New Yorkers can get up to $800 in cash for a window or portable air conditioner unit or fan, including installation. Those with an existing wall sleeve unit can get up to $1,000. Only one air conditioner or fan will be provided per applicant household. The household's gross monthly income is at or below the current income guidelines for your household size as posted in the following table (see below), or you are enrolled in one of the following programs: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Temporary Assistance (TA) Code A Supplemental Security Income (SSI Living Alone) You receive a regular benefit equal to or more significant than $21 in the current program year and reside in government-subsidized housing with heat included in your rent. The household contains at least one individual with a documented medical condition that is exacerbated by extreme heat. The household contains a vulnerable member based on age (60 years or older or children under age 6), which meets all other component eligibility criteria. A member of your household is a United States Citizen or Qualified Non-Citizen. You currently do not have a working air conditioner, or the air conditioner you have is five years old or older. You have not received a HEAP-funded air conditioner within the past five years. Household Size Maximum Monthly Gross Income for 2024-2025 1 $3,322 2 $4,345 3 $5,367 4 $6,390 5 $7,412 6 $8,434 7 $8,626 8 $8,818 9 $9,010 10 $9,201 11 $9,393 12 $9,585 13 $9,952 For each additional person Add $672 You can apply for benefits in the following ways: Call 718-557-1399 and HEAP will provide more information about eligibility, the application process, and required documentation. New Yorkers can apply in person at one of the locations listed here. New Yorkers can also apply online here. Anyone planning to apply for a free air conditioner will need to provide proof of residence, income, identity, social security and medical conditions. Ben Mitchell is a digital content producer from Vermont who has covered both local and international news since 2021. He joined PIX11 in 2024. See more of his work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
The GOP wants work requirements for Medicaid. Here's what those rules do (and don't) accomplish.
As they work to pass a 'big beautiful bill' filled with tax cuts and spending reductions, Republicans in Congress are proposing adding work requirements to Medicaid, the $618 billion program that provides healthcare to more than 70 million low-income Americans. "When so many Americans who are truly in need rely on Medicaid for life-saving services, Washington can't afford to undermine the program further by subsidizing capable adults who choose not to work,' GOP Rep. Brett Guthrie, chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce wrote in an op-ed last week. 'That's why our bill would implement sensible work requirements.' As the name implies, work requirements are rules that force people to work in order to receive a government benefit. They have been in use for decades as part of other programs, most notably cash welfare assistance, but have never been used nationally for Medicaid. Only one state, Georgia, currently has work requirements for Medicaid. Arkansas had them briefly at the end of the last decade, but the policy was struck down by the courts. The GOP's draft proposal would establish a nationwide 'community engagement requirement' that would mandate Medicaid recipients to work, volunteer, or attend school for at least 80 hours per month to maintain their benefits. It includes many exceptions that would allow pregnant women, new mothers, anyone under 19 and members of certain other groups to keep their coverage without working. Work requirements have been a popular solution to concerns about 'freeloading' in government programs since at least the 1980s. Supporters see them as a crucial step toward putting people on a path to supporting themselves and as a tool to weed out those who aren't willing to put in the effort to improve their circumstances. In the 1990s, then-President Bill Clinton signed a bill establishing nationwide work requirements for cash welfare as part of what he called 'a crusade to transform our system of welfare into a system of work; to transform a system of dependence into a system of independence.' That logic is still convincing to most Americans today. Well over half of respondents (62%) said they support work requirements for Medicaid in a poll taken earlier this year by the healthcare research group KFF. Despite how common this perception is, the overwhelming share of evidence we have from the real world suggests that work requirements don't make people more self-sufficient and create barriers that cause even those who do work to lose benefits they are eligible for. Study after study over the decades has found that work requirements — whether they're for Medicaid, food assistance or cash welfare — don't have a meaningful effect on employment. A recent government report that looked at the effects of work requirements on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the program more commonly known as welfare, found that after nearly three decades, the policy had 'little effect on employment' but had 'substantially reduced the number of people receiving the benefits they provide.' A different study on work requirements for food assistance, commonly known as food stamps, found similar results: Employment rates weren't affected, but hundreds of thousands of people lost access to support they relied on to eat. Medicaid work requirements haven't been tried at a wide scale, but research into the more limited attempts suggest that results are similar. Arkansas imposed its own 'community engagement' rules in 2018. The policy was only in place for 10 months, but in that span 18,000 people in the state lost health coverage and the rules 'did not increase employment,' one study found. Georgia's Medicaid work requirement system, which has been in place since 2023, has been plagued by low enrollment, technical glitches and ballooning administrative costs. Two years ago, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office released an estimate of the impact that nationwide work requirements for Medicaid would have. It found that the policy would cause 1.5 million Americans to lose their healthcare coverage and would have 'negligible effect on employment status or hours worked.' One of the main reasons that work requirements don't increase employment is because most people who get government benefits are already working or are unable to work. About 92% of Medicaid recipients under the age of 65 are either employed or unable to work because of disability, illness, caregiving responsibilities or school obligations, according to KFF. There is also research showing that adding extra paperwork steps — like requiring people to certify with the government that they are in fact working — can create bureaucratic pitfalls that cause even those who have satisfied all of the new criteria to lose their benefits. 'Work requirements impose administrative barriers and red tape that lead to coverage losses among both people who are working as well as people the policies purport to exempt,' Gideon Lukens and Elizabeth Zhang of the Center on Policy and Budget Priorities wrote earlier this year. Many critics of work requirements say the policy is built on the false belief that people who are struggling to get by are in that position because of laziness or some other personal shortcoming. 'More stringent work requirements implemented in the past have largely failed to boost work in significant ways because these requirements do not attack the core problems of weak macroeconomic conditions, the volatile nature of low-wage work, and other barriers to work,' Hilary Wething of the Economic Policy Institute wrote in January. Republicans are attempting to combine a laundry list of legislative priorities into a single, massive spending bill that they hope to pass before Memorial Day. With narrow majorities in both houses of Congress and zero reason to expect they will get any Democratic votes, they have very little room for error. Any part of the bill could be changed or scrapped altogether if the party can't unify behind it. Medicaid work requirements have been a point of disagreement in negotiations within the party, but so far there has not been vocal opposition to imposing them. In fact, the main critique has come from hardline conservatives who want them to go into effect sooner than they would in the initial proposal.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
The GOP wants work requirements for Medicaid. Here's what those rules do (and don't) accomplish
As they work to pass a 'big beautiful bill' filled with tax cuts and spending reductions, Republicans in Congress are proposing adding work requirements to Medicaid, the $618 billion program that provides healthcare to more than 70 million low-income Americans. "When so many Americans who are truly in need rely on Medicaid for life-saving services, Washington can't afford to undermine the program further by subsidizing capable adults who choose not to work,' GOP Rep. Brett Guthrie, chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce wrote in an op-ed last week. 'That's why our bill would implement sensible work requirements.' As the name implies, work requirements are rules that force people to work in order to receive a government benefit. They have been in use for decades as part of other programs, most notably cash welfare assistance, but have never been used nationally for Medicaid. Only one state, Georgia, currently has work requirements for Medicaid. Arkansas had them briefly at the end of the last decade, but the policy was struck down by the courts. The GOP's draft proposal would establish a nationwide 'community engagement requirement' that would mandate Medicaid recipients to work, volunteer, or attend school for at least 80 hours per month to maintain their benefits. It includes many exceptions that would allow pregnant women, new mothers, anyone under 19 and members of certain other groups to keep their coverage without working. Work requirements have been a popular solution to concerns about 'freeloading' in government programs since at least the 1980s. Supporters see them as a crucial step toward putting people on a path to supporting themselves and as a tool to weed out those who aren't willing to put in the effort to improve their circumstances. In the 1990s, then-President Bill Clinton signed a bill establishing nationwide work requirements for cash welfare as part of what he called 'a crusade to transform our system of welfare into a system of work; to transform a system of dependence into a system of independence.' That logic is still convincing to most Americans today. Well over half of respondents (62%) said they support work requirements for Medicaid in a poll taken earlier this year by the healthcare research group KFF. Despite how common this perception is, the overwhelming share of evidence we have from the real world suggests that work requirements don't make people more self-sufficient and create barriers that cause even those who do work to lose benefits they are eligible for. Study after study over the decades has found that work requirements — whether they're for Medicaid, food assistance or cash welfare — don't have a meaningful effect on employment. A recent government report that looked at the effects of work requirements on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the program more commonly known as welfare, found that after nearly three decades, the policy had 'little effect on employment' but had 'substantially reduced the number of people receiving the benefits they provide.' A different study on work requirements for food assistance, commonly known as food stamps, found similar results: Employment rates weren't affected, but hundreds of thousands of people lost access to support they relied on to eat. Medicaid work requirements haven't been tried at a wide scale, but research into the more limited attempts suggest that results are similar. Arkansas imposed its own 'community engagement' rules in 2018. The policy was only in place for 10 months, but in that span 18,000 people in the state lost health coverage and the rules 'did not increase employment,' one study found. Georgia's Medicaid work requirement system, which has been in place since 2023, has been plagued by low enrollment, technical glitches and ballooning administrative costs. Two years ago, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office released an estimate of the impact that nationwide work requirements for Medicaid would have. It found that the policy would cause 1.5 million Americans to lose their healthcare coverage and would have 'negligible effect on employment status or hours worked.' One of the main reasons that work requirements don't increase employment is because most people who get government benefits are already working or are unable to work. About 92% of Medicaid recipients under the age of 65 are either employed or unable to work because of disability, illness, caregiving responsibilities or school obligations, according to KFF. There is also research showing that adding extra paperwork steps — like requiring people to certify with the government that they are in fact working — can create bureaucratic pitfalls that cause even those who have satisfied all of the new criteria to lose their benefits. 'Work requirements impose administrative barriers and red tape that lead to coverage losses among both people who are working as well as people the policies purport to exempt,' Gideon Lukens and Elizabeth Zhang of the Center on Policy and Budget Priorities wrote earlier this year. Many critics of work requirements say the policy is built on the false belief that people who are struggling to get by are in that position because of laziness or some other personal shortcoming. 'More stringent work requirements implemented in the past have largely failed to boost work in significant ways because these requirements do not attack the core problems of weak macroeconomic conditions, the volatile nature of low-wage work, and other barriers to work,' Hilary Wething of the Economic Policy Institute wrote in January. Republicans are attempting to combine a laundry list of legislative priorities into a single, massive spending bill that they hope to pass before Memorial Day. With narrow majorities in both houses of Congress and zero reason to expect they will get any Democratic votes, they have very little room for error. Any part of the bill could be changed or scrapped altogether if the party can't unify behind it. Medicaid work requirements have been a point of disagreement in negotiations within the party, but so far there has not been vocal opposition to imposing them. In fact, the main critique has come from hardline conservatives who want them to go into effect sooner than they would in the initial proposal.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
How HEAP can get low-income New Yorkers air conditioning
NEW YORK (ABC22/FOX44) – New Yorkers can now apply to receive free air-conditioning through the Home Energy Assistance Program. Low-income individuals that meet HEAP's threshold may get a fan or cooling unit, with installation, using one Cooling Assistance benefit. Only one air conditioner or fan per applicant household can be provided. Those who are eligible include people with medical conditions that worsen from heat, individuals that receive Temporary Assistance and more. Applications opened Tuesday, April 15. Benefits are provided on a a first come, first served basis. Additional information on how to apply can be found on the HEAP website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Applications open for a free air conditioner in NYC
NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) – Applications are now open for New Yorkers to get money for a free air conditioner. The Cooling Assistance Benefit, funded by city and state agencies, offers up to $800 for a new air conditioner and $1,000 to repair an existing wall sleeve unit. The money covers the new machinery plus installation and minor repairs. To apply for the assistance, click here. More Local News Not everyone qualifies for the air conditioning assistance, and each household can only get one every five years. To qualify, a household of two cannot make more than $4,345 per month, and a family of four cannot make more than $6,390 per month. SNAP, Temporary Assistance, SSI Living Alone and HEAP Regular benefit recipients also qualify. Households must have a resident over 60 years old, under 6 years old, or a resident with a medical condition exacerbated by heat to qualify. To see all eligibility requirements, click here. Emily Rahhal is a digital reporter who has covered New York City since 2023 after reporting in Los Angeles for years. She joined PIX11 in 2024. See more of her work here and follow her on Twitter here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
