WIC enrollment has declined over the last decade, preventing millions of eligible low-income individuals from accessing its benefits. This report examines state WIC outreach pilots and discusses the effectiveness of text message outreach and key considerations when developing and launching targeted text outreach campaigns.
This presentation, from the Data Sharing Working Group, highlights a Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and Benefits Data Trust project to increase enrollment in the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program.
Benefits Data Trust (BDT), in collaboration with the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS), conducted a nationwide analysis of how states coordinate across Medicaid and SNAP programs to streamline access to benefits.
Accounting for the strong effects of health care access, this study finds that SNAP is associated with reduced hospitalization in dually eligible older adults. Policies to increase SNAP participation and benefit amounts in eligible older adults may reduce hospitalizations and health care costs for older dual eligible adults living in the community.
The toolkit provides strategies for state and local WIC agencies to enhance enrollment by utilizing data from Medicaid and SNAP for cross-program data matching and targeted outreach.
A study shows that Benefits Data Trust’s outreach and application assistance significantly increased SNAP enrollment among North Carolina seniors, improving health outcomes and reducing Medicaid costs.
This case study highlights how states used data sharing and targeted outreach to boost WIC enrollment among Medicaid and SNAP participants, improving program reach and reducing disparities.
This playbook is designed to help government and other key sectors use data sharing to illuminate who is not accessing benefits, connect under-enrolled populations to vital assistance, and make the benefits system more efficient for agencies and participants alike.
