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Washington Association of Churches
ADVOCACY ALERT
February 7, 2002
Proposed Cuts to Nutrition Programs Could Increase Hunger in
Washington
The Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants & Children
(WIC) is one of the most proven cost-effective, and successful government
programs. WIC provides health assessments, health care referrals, and nutritious food
for low-income pregnant women, mothers and their young children. For
every $1 spent on the WIC program it has been proven to save up to $4 in related
health care costs. WIC supports 250,000 of Washington's women and children
each year at over 250 sites across Washington. Half of all babies born in Washington benefit from WIC. WIC also contributes $60 million
statewide in
revenue for local grocery stores.
The Governor's budget proposed a cut of
$423,000 to the WIC program that could seriously weaken the infrastructure
of WIC and force overburdened clinics to reduce their level and quality of
services. Since the passage of I-695 the state has been sending money to local public health clinics to make up for the money that they lost
from the MVET. Because the state has such a serious deficit they may stop "backfilling" the money that local public health clinics have lost.
If the state ends this contribution to the counties, local health clinics will be
forced to cut services. In King County alone this could mean a potential loss of 35% of WIC program
funds - and the elimination of up to 10,400 caseload slots.
The WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (WIC FMNP) provides vouchers to
purchase fresh fruits and vegetables from local farmers' markets to low-income families on the WIC program. The WIC FMNP serves 30,000
clients each year. Twenty-two farmers' markets participate with over 400 small
farmers. For each dollar we contribute to the WIC FMNP we collect 3 federal
dollars. The Governor's budget proposed elimination of this program. If this
program is eliminated it could have a serious impact on WIC clients and small farmers.
The Emergency Food Assistance Program (EFAP) provides funding to food
banks and distribution centers throughout Washington for operating expenses
and food purchase. Lead agencies in each county distribute funds to community
food banks. Three hundred and ten (310) food banks receive EFAP funds, serving 1,080,000 clients for a total of 5,549,000 client visits. The
Governor's proposed cuts to EFAP funds will decrease the capacity of food banks to store and distribute perishable goods. And result in less
food to distribute at local food banks at the very time they are reporting an
increase in demand.
USDA data shows that Washington is among the highest in the nation in its rate of hunger. These nutrition programs are key in the fight against
hunger. Legislators are working now to put together the Supplemental budget.
Ask your legislator to protect the funding for these vital anti-hunger programs.
TAKE FIVE
ISSUE: Last November, the Department of Social and Health Services
submitted a Medicaid waiver proposal to the federal government, asking for
broad new powers to cap enrollment, create waiting lists, eliminate benefits,
and impose unspecified premiums and co-payments on the Medicaid program. No
details on these changes or their potentially devastating impacts were included in the proposal. Countless advocates, community members, and
legislators have spoken out about their concerns and the secrecy and lack of
openness surrounding this proposal. The message they've sent is that Medicaid
decisions should not be made in the shadows or behind closed doors.
A bill was sponsored this session, HB 2461, which would require an open, public legislative process around Medicaid waivers, so changes in
access to this program could not be made without input from the public and those
affected. This bill has received resounding support from members of the health care community and s likely to get out of the House Health
Committee, but it may be blocked in the Appropriations Committee!
ACTION: We need your help. Please call the legislative hotline at
1-800-562-6000 with the following message :"Please pass HB 2461 to ensure there is an open, public process to review any Medicaid waiver
requests that could result in low-income people losing health coverage or services."
Roger Yockey, Public Policy Advocate rysolidarity@aol.com
Sara Merten, Public Policy Associate merten@thewac.org
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