One hundred and one blind or disabled residents in Haines and Klukwan stand to lose an average of $224 each month in state cash assistance due to an incorrect formula the state has been using to calculate the benefits since 1983.
The Adult Public Assistance Program (APA) is money distributed monthly by the state’s Department of Health and Social Services to disabled residents to help them remain independent. Amount per recipient ranges from $1 to $778 per month, according to DHSS spokesperson Clinton Bennett.
In Haines, 82 people receive a cumulative $20,944 in funds per month, according to 2019 department statistics. In Klukwan, nine people receive a total of $1,697.
The adjustment will take effect Jan. 1, though exact amounts of reductions to individuals are unknown, and need to be recalculated on a case-by-case basis, according to the state press release.
Haines resident Austin Segars, 26, enrolled in the APA program about a year and a half ago. Segars has been on disability since 2014, after having brain surgery to stop seizures. He received $362 a month in APA money, which helps him with medical-related travel costs.
“I have to pay to travel to Juneau to see my doctor every few months,” Segars said. “It helps cover a lot of necessary stuff. I have to pay for the travel and the hotel and prescriptions that weren’t covered by Medicaid insurance.”
On Dec. 2, Segars received a letter from the state notifying him that his payment will decrease by $100 each month beginning in January based on the new formula, and the state’s misunderstanding that his state social security benefits increased.
Social security benefits are paid to low-income Alaskans who are unable to work for at least one year due to an injury. Segars’ $640 monthly payment was nearly halved about two months ago when a one-time spike in his wife’s monthly income made him no longer eligible for the program.
“My wife got paid three times in one month instead of twice, so they dropped my (benefits) from $650 down to $350 at the same time they dropped APA,” he said. “That’s why I don’t understand why they are dropping APA, too.”
Segars said he plans to request an adjustment, but it usually takes a while to receive a response.
Bennett told the CVN there is no guarantee that all recipients will receive less funding, and that it’s possible another pool of federal money the state disseminates will increase, such as the Alaska Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that provides food benefits to low-income households.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy originally proposed reductions to the program in February, but fully restored the fund after federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services notified the state department that it had been incorrectly calculating the benefits for nearly four decades.
“It became clear that the recalculation was going to reduce the payment levels to an unacceptable amount due to the compounding program changes that hit individuals in the APA program,” Bennett said.
The Division of Public Assistance, a branch within the Department of Health and Social Services, reported sending out individual notice letters to recipients two weeks ago about their specific payment adjustments.
“If any cases are not able to be worked prior to January 1, a supplemental benefit will be issued to individuals in January” Bennett said. “If there is a reduction in benefits, the exact amount is not known and will need to be recalculated on a case-by-case basis.”
A total of 19,461 individuals statewide are enrolled in this program, according to 2019 statistics.
Dunleavy proposed cutting adult public assistance by 24 percent in February. The legislature restored the $14.7 million. Dunleavy then vetoed $7.5 million, cutting the program by about half, according to Anchorage Daily News reporting.