More low-income Philadelphians receiving state and federal aid
Mayor Nutter this morning touted the early success of a city-state initiative announced in September that seeks to get low-income Philadelphians to take advantage of state and federal aid programs. Some 6,000 residents have been reached, according to the mayor, qualifying for a total of $16.7 million in federal and state benefits. The full text of the press release follows.
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This morning Mayor Michael A. Nutter and officials from the Pennsylvania Department of Aging announced that BenePhilly, a joint initiative to enroll the thousands of low-income Philadelphians eligible for, but not receiving, valuable Federal and State benefits, has exceeded its goal of signing Philadelphians up for more than $15 million in annual Federal and State benefits by December 31, 2008. Older Philadelphians have successfully signed up for an estimated $16.7 million since September of 2008.
“In this economy, every dollar counts; it is important not to leave any Federal or State aid which Philadelphians are entitled to on the table,” said Mayor Nutter. “These dollars have a real impact, not only on the recipients, but on the Philadelphia economy as a whole.”
The first stage of BenePhilly focused on the more than 60,000 older Philadelphians who are eligible for but not enrolled in benefits including the PACE and Medicare prescription drug programs, Food Stamps and the State property tax and rent rebates. Almost 6,000 applications for these programs were submitted.
For example, an 80 year old Philadelphia man received mailings about the PACE program since 2007 but after receiving a letter from Mayor Nutter in 2008, he decided to submit an application and will be receiving PACE, the Property Tax and Rent Rebate, Medicare Prescription Drug, and Food Stamps.
Older Philadelphians are still leaving more than $117 million on the table. To help reduce that number, the City and the State are partnering again this year to enroll more seniors in State and Federal aid
programs. Due to budget constraints, the State Department of Aging is only able to commit at this time to enrolling an additional 1,800 seniors through BenePhilly in 2009 for an estimated total of $5.7 million dollars in benefits. The City and the State would like to do more proactive enrollment and are seeking federal and private funds to do so.
“For several years, the Pennsylvania Department of Aging has committed significant resources to direct outreach efforts that have resulted in the enrollment of many thousands of older Pennsylvanians in PACE and other benefit programs,” said Tom Snedden, PACE Program Director. “Without this extraordinary effort many of these people would undoubtedly not have received these benefits. We're proud of this commitment and the success of our efforts to date, and hope that we can continue to be successful in the future.”
BenePhilly assists seniors in enrolling through innovative and unprecedented outreach efforts. Since September of 2008, BenePhilly has sent letters from the Mayor to more than 60,000 seniors who are unenrolled but believed to be eligible. These letters were followed by a recorded phone call from the Mayor informing them of an 800 number to call for assistance from someone in Philadelphia. If the senior does not respond, they received a live follow-up call. Funding for this portion of the initiative comes from the State in coordination with the City.
To learn more about BenePhilly or how to enroll in benefit programs, please call one of the numbers below.
Key Phone Numbers
BenePhilly assistance for Seniors: 800-236-2194 M-F 9am-5pm
Food Stamps assistance: 215-430-0556
(Coalition Against Hunger Hotline)
Energy Assistance (LIHEAP): 800-692-7462
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