Roughly half a million children in the U.S. could lose their eligibility for free school lunches under an administration proposal. Children whose families qualify for food stamps through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, can automatically get free breakfasts and lunches at school, but the administration’s new proposal would tighten eligibility for SNAP. The U.S. Department of Agriculture released an analysis this week showing that nearly 3 million people could lose access to food stamps under the proposed rule, including almost 1 million children.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released an analysis that says as many as 982,000 children could be affected by the change. Children whose families lost SNAP benefits would have to submit an application to determine if they qualify for free or reduced-priced school meals. About 45% of them — some 445,000 kids — would still qualify for free meals but about 497,000 kids who currently get free meals — would have to start paying a reduced price of 40 cents for school lunch and 30 cents for breakfast, since they come from families with an annual income of between 130% and 185% of the federal poverty level. Another 40,000 kids who currently get free meals would need to pay the full price because their family won’t qualify for the program anymore.
The National School Lunch Program serves roughly 30 million students, including about 20 million free meals daily. For those who don’t qualify for free or reduced price meals, the average price of lunch was $2.48 for elementary school students in the 2016-17 school year, according to the School Nutrition Association, which represents cafeteria employees and vendors.
According to the USDA, the proposal could cut $90 million annually from the cost of its school lunch and breakfast programs. They noted that the number of children being affected by the proposal could be less because some schools offer free lunches to all students regardless of eligibility. But the schools that offer this program requires 40% of students to be eligible for free meals, and the rule change could mean some schools no longer meet that threshold.
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has said tightening access to SNAP would close a “loophole” that allows families receiving temporary assistance benefits to automatically get food stamps too. The USDA is not proposing changes to the income rules for the program. It says it is addressing a loophole that gives eligibility to people who would not have otherwise qualified.
The USDA released the details of its analysis after it was criticized for failing to report the impact its SNAP rule change could have on children’s access to free school meals. The agency has said the change is intended to make eligibility rules more consistent across the country, since states can grant people eligibility if they were enrolled in other assistance programs. Critics argue that the change will increase food insecurity among low-income families and add to states’ administrative costs.
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A 50-year-old Kansas woman became the sixth person in the USA to die of a vaping-related lung illness, an outbreak that has ramped up health concerns nationwide. Kansas State Epidemiologist Farah Ahmed said in a statement that the unidentified patient had a history of underlying health issues and had been hospitalized with symptoms that progressed rapidly. Dr. Lee Norman, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said that the patient did have underlying health issues but nothing that would have foretold the fact that within a week after starting using e-cigarettes for the first time, she developed full-blown acute respiratory distress. Doctors say it’s clear the vaping related lung illness is responsible for her rapid deterioration.
Kansas health officials noted six more cases associated with the outbreak, three patients confirmed with the illness and three cases under investigation. Five previous vaping-related deaths were confirmed in California, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Oregon. After the Kansas fatality, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tallied six deaths and more than 450 possible cases of severe lung injury in 33 states and one jurisdiction. The CDC confirmed that investigators narrowed their focus and that the additive vitamin E acetate is a chemical involved in many of the cases, but officials emphasized it is not in all of the cases being reviewed.
People with a history of vaping who experience lung injury symptoms should seek medical care, according to Kansas health officials. Nationally, symptoms include shortness of breath, fever, cough, vomiting and diarrhea. Other symptoms reported by some patients include headache, dizziness and chest pain. Though many patients across the nation have been in their late teens, 20s or 30s, the Kansas death is a warning that older adults may be at particular risk.
Patients tend to arrive at the hospital short of breath and coughing. Many have also had fevers, general fatigue and gastrointestinal problems. It is not unusual for patients to be put into intensive care units, and on ventilators. All reported vaping nicotine, THC or a combination of the two in the days and weeks before falling ill. The CDC has recommended people stay away from vaping devices while investigators work to pinpoint exactly what’s behind the illnesses.
The rapid and worrisome increase has now prompted a Congressional hearing on the matter, after a policy discussion on the matter. The recent death has prompted the U.S. President to call for a ban on thousands of e-cigarette flavors in an effort to get people to give up e-cigarettes. E-cigarette companies have been given years to gather and submit evidence their products are safe and effective ways to quit smoking traditional tobacco. A federal judge has set a May 2020 deadline for companies to do so.
Dr. Norman said “God only knows what all is in there. There should be a moratorium on the sale of these products until we know more.” The American Lung Association also released a statement warning the public that e-cigarettes could cause irreversible lung damage. “No one should use e-cigarettes or any other tobacco product,” Harold Wimmer, national president of the American Lung Association, wrote in the statement. “This message is even more urgent today following the increasing reports of vaping-related illnesses and deaths nationwide.”
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In an effort to broaden the company’s “social interaction” with our clients and FaceBook fans, Daily Trivia Questions are posted on both of our business pages. Here are the weekly standings for this past week, and the winner of the Sunday night Weekly Drawing for an AmEx gift card!
Congratulations – To this past week’s Trivia Contest Winner!! Our latest contest winner for the weekly FaceBook HealthInsurance4Everyone/Health & Life Solutions, LLC Trivia Contest, drawn randomly by computer late Sunday evening, February 19th, 2017 was:
STEPHANIE BECKWITH
Jefferson, OH
Winner Of A $25.00 AmEx Gift Card
Each day, fans of either of our company FaceBook pages (HealthInsurance4Everyone or Health & Life Solutions LLC) are able to test their skills with our Daily TRIVIA QUESTION. The first 20 winners who post the correct answer to the TRIVIA QUESTION, will then get entered into the weekly drawing held late on Sunday evenings for a $25.00 Am Ex Gift. Card
Weekly Gift Card winners will be posted in our blog at this site. Remember to become a FaceBook “fan” on either of our company pages to enter and post your answers.
Here are the daily contestants from last week’s Trivia Contest that were entered into the Sunday drawing:
2/13/17
Phyllis Hines
Dean Bruss
Angela Nicole
Amy Hopper
Jennifer Ramlet
Deborah Farris
Derek Jennings
Karen Bondehagen
Sharon Swenson-Nelson
Alisa Jones
Leslie Wagner Hobson
2/14/17
Tiffany Greene Elliott
Kimberly Snyder
Nitasha Shank
Christina Radcliff
Beth Cleveland
Paula Rivers
Nai Merri
Stephanie Beckwith
Jade Good
Mikayla Oakes
Cheryl Hall
Alicia Dansby
Kayla Clemons
Jennifer Ramlet
Kendra George
Mary Alice Ford
Jennifer Ramlet
Emily Rice Bowersock
Anna Nichols
Adaria Johnson
Anna Ashley Pinder
Leslie Wagner Hobson
Amy Stonger
2/15/17
Kathi Taylor
Kizzy Alvarez DeSantis
Christine Acoba
Tabitha Sinks
Lori Capobianco
Misty Shallcross
Joanie Waterman
Kathi Taylor
Alicia Dansby
Michelle Rayeske-Jeske
Judy Custer
Jennifer Sparks
Sandra Sue Blanton
Alisa Jones
Kim Floyd
Michelle Hughes
Adaria Johnson
Sheila Carvell
Amy Hopper
Kayla Clemons
2/16/17
Nai Merri
Holly Cajigas
Christina Domingue
Rhonda Nicholson
Phyllis Hines
Brooke Scott
Amy Hopper
Tina Casto-Shafer
LaKishia Wagers
Dale Fish
Kendra George
Kimberly Foster
Jessica Miller
Tiffany Greene Elliott
Lotorya Patrick
Melissa Barnes Walker
Kristina Rosson
Lisa Wright
Lori Capobianco
Bea Patrick
Trish Marks
2/17/17
Sherri Kidwell
Katrina Worford
Brian K Henson
Tara Lennox
Priscilla Shimp
Megan Akins
Sheila Carvell
Alexandra Vindiola
Kayla Hernandez
Alicia Dansby
Brandi Chaney
Tessa Davis
Althea Thomas
Mikayla Oakes
Carla S-Paige Williams
Kizzy Alvarez DeSantis
Dawn Raasch
Susanne Killion
Kassi Krick-King
Melissa Turner Baker
2/18/17
Nikki Hunsaker
Christina Domingue
Geri Rus
Kristen Raia Bowman
Joanie Waterman
Anna Nichols
Brandy Marie Williams
Phyllis Hines
Christina Radcliff
Dean Bruss
Tiffany Greene Elliott
Ashley Nichole Busse
Crystal Young
Kizzy Alvarez DeSantis
Kristina Harris
Cheryl Hall
Lori Capobianco
Heather Marie Stacy
Kristina Harris
Chelcie Malow
2/19/17
Heather Jacques
Lisa David Carr
Kizzy Alvarez DeSantis
Kimberly Snyder
Kathleen Hickman
Jakara Jackson
Allison Frederick
Patricia Oehlert Vazquez
Juanita Williams-Jones
Jeanine Jones
Paula Rivers
Priscilla Shimp
Cheryl Hall
Kimberly Taylor Hall
Susanne Killion
Katrina Worford
Lisa Back
Jodi Stevens
Wayne Gallas
Jackie Hicks
Jane Peterson
Jennifer Downing
Crystal Hazelwood
Be sure to watch both of our FaceBook pages for your chance to win and enter again next week, with questions posted daily on HealthInsurance4Everyone or at Health & Life Solutions, LLC!!
Remember that if you try your hand at answering the Trivia Question several days each week, your odds of winning the Sunday weekly drawing are much better. You may also find that if you “Like” both of the business pages, you will receive faster notifications of the other players as they post their answers to compete with you!
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At Health Insurance 4 Everyone, we not only want to improve our customer service but also interact with our customers on a social media level that wasn’t available before. Interested in connecting with us? Look us up on….
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