State Must Act Now to Alleviate Hunger, Lack of Medical Care

When you apply for Food Stamps, you can't wait for 12 months for the State to process your application timely. You need to have it processed ASAP. Federal law allows 30 days. For the past 16 months, at least, the State has taken more than 30 days to process about 20% of initial food stamp applications. That means about 2,000 applications a month are not being timely processed.

The State has also failed to timely process redeterminations more than half of the time. Redeterminations are made frequently to see if Food Stamp recipients continue to be eligible. Likewise, recently, the State has illegally delayed processing up to 6,000 Medicaid applications each month.

We estimate as many as 75,000 Coloradans annually are being illegally deprived of their benefits by these unlawful processing delays.

A recent Denver Post article quotes State officials as saying they are on top of the issue, and a web portal and other enhancements will resolve everything soon. Not so.

Only now, after 4 and 1/2 years since the Denver District Court severely chastised the State for untimely processing, is the State entering into a contract for enhancements to improve timely processing. And those enhancements are expected to take at least 12 months to design, train personnel, and implement.

While we appreciate the improvements the State is attempting to make, twelve months is too long to wait for those Coloradans who rely on Food Stamps and Medicaid to put food on the table or get medical care. The State must do something now to ensure people can get food stamps and medical care they and their families need. Since we are facing the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, a 22-year high in unemployment, and many Coloradans are in desperate need of help, it is incumbent upon the State to act immediately to address the ever growing crisis. State government must recognize this emergency for what it is, and use federal stimulus funds, state rainy day reserves, or other resources to meet these critical needs.