BENEFITS CLIFF
Hard Work Should Pay Off
You worked hard and got a promotion. For many workers, that’s actually bad news.
A modest raise may be enough for a family to lose its eligibility for Medicaid or SNAP. However, that same family still cannot afford market-rate insurance and cannot buy groceries on their take-home pay.
Your young adult child gets a low paying job
They cannot afford to move out of your house but their low paying wages negatively impact your government benefits disproportionately.
MOFJ advocates for changes to eligibility rules so that people are not punished for success.
Expert recommendations:
- Benefit asset limits should be increased.
- Income of young adults living with their family should not be included in eligibility calculations.
- Savings should be rewarded as a path to greater independence.
We are proud to be the lead organization in Growing Together Connecticut’s coalition to address the benefits cliff.
HOUSING
Room for All
Leaders love to talk about affordable housing.
Affordable for who?
Housing is considered affordable only when the total cost does not exceed a third of a household’s income. More than half of New Haven’s residents are spending more of that — so most of the city is in an affordable housing crisis. Still more residents are making do with housing that’s in such poor condition that it threatens their health.
MOFJ is a voice for deeply affordable housing. We have researched the planning and funding behind so-called affordable housing and proven that it falls short of our community’s needs. Read more here: (LINK to bus tour materials)
Expert recommendations:
- Create more deeply affordable housing. Read our in-depth, by-the-numbers look at why local projects have failed to meet the needs of the lowest income renters. (Link to bus tour materials.
- Expand Just Cause protections against evictions. Currently Connecticut renters can be displaced arbitrarily.
H.E.A.L.T.H.
Helping Everyone Achieve Lifelong Trusted Healthcare
We live in communities where lifespans are shorter and disease burdens higher than in more affluent neighborhoods just a few miles away. New Haven is a national leader in health care innovation — but not everyone benefits from it. Our HEALTH (Helping Everyone Achieve Lifelong Trusted Health Care) is a program of MOFJ that advocates policies to create access to affordable, culturally competent care and accessible health care.
Expert recommendations:
- Resist the privatization of HUSKY.
- Expand support for community health workers.