The NYC Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity (NYC Opportunity) developed the NYC Benefits Platform, including ACCESS NYC, to help residents easily discover and check eligibility for over 80 social programs.
Accessing safety net benefits can involve complicated and duplicative processes that create barriers to access. Using cross-enrollment strategies can minimize the difficulties community members face in getting access to life-saving resources.
Applicants to federal aid programs face numerous barriers in accessing benefits they are eligible for. The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare conducted an extensive qualitative user research study to better understand applicant experience in enrolling in public assistance programs. Based on the results, the study emphasizes the need for simplified, streamlined and less burdensome application processes.
The New Mexico Human Services Department and Department of Health, as part of the Coordinating SNAP & Nutrition Supports program, leveraged data sharing to align SNAP, Medicaid, TANF, and WIC.
American Public Human Services Association (APHSA)
Created by Benefits Data Trust, Benefits Launch Express is a high-level eligibility screening and assistance finder available to Philadelphia residents. The tool screens eligibility for 29 programs and is estimated to take up to 10 minutes to complete.
beta.gouv.fr, a French government incubator, developed Mes Aides, an online benefits simulator launched in 2014 to help residents assess their eligibility for various social programs, addressing the issue of unclaimed benefits. The tool, built with open-source technology, enabled users to quickly estimate their potential benefits but was later integrated into a broader platform in 2020 following internal government disputes over authority.
The report discusses how state Medicaid agencies can enhance efficiency and maintain coverage for eligible individuals by implementing ex parte renewals, which automatically renew beneficiaries' coverage using existing data without requiring action from enrollees.
ACCESS NYC aims to increase the accessibility and convenience of discovering and enrolling in government benefits. These patterns support this work by defining the UI and behavior that New Yorkers experience as they use the site.
In response to COVID-19, the Workers Lab and Steady developed the "Income Passport" to streamline gig workers' unemployment benefit applications by pulling income data directly from gig platforms and financial accounts. This tool reduced manual verification time, helped prevent fraud, and improved workers' access to full benefits, with successful tests in Alabama and Louisiana demonstrating significant time savings and improved service delivery.
ACCESS NYC is an online public screening tool that residents can use to determine the City, State, and Federal health and human service benefit programs for which they are eligible.
