WA State Seeks to ‘Streamline, Combine’ Social Benefit Programs

The agencies would not combine, but access to their programs would.

State announces plan to create 'one-stop' location for benefits

It sounds like an ambitious plan. The  Washington State Health and Human Services Enterprise Coalition is a consortium of various state agencies that offer benefits to residents, including SNAP Food, TANF, and Apple Medical care.

It was announced this week the coalition has teamed with a non-profit group called Benefits Data Trust, in an attempt to create a portal or place where benefit recipients can access their information, and get information from one source.

Currently, recipients of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), and the Apple Medical Program (Medicare) have to visit various websites to stay on top of their programs as well las get information about others. According to the Coalition, after removing what they feel are barriers to access for some people, they also said:

"State programs have a comprehensive view of clients and share information across organizational boundaries to proactively offer other benefits the client may qualify to receive."

The action plan to develop this system began this month, and will reportedly conclude in May 2024.