geoff: Amid many of the debates around entitlements and benefits, one thing often gets lost, and that is that many people who qualify for help struggle to get and keep their benefits because it can be difficult to navigate the system. Economics correspondent Paul Solman looks at that challenge as part of our special series, America's safety net. Paul: Single mom Morgan is eligible for food stamps. But getting them? >> You did everything you're supposed to do and then you come to find out you are
supposed to be doing something else. Paul: Jessica's experience. >> I submit my paperwork and it will be two or three months have gone by where I get a response. Sometimes they don't get my information. >> You really have to be on top of every piece of mail. Paul: Lori's food stamps were once caught off. >> I did not have my birth certificate or something, I did not have access to it. Paul: Pamela co-authored the book, administrative burden. >> It can feel like a full-time job, both getting on
those programs and then actually staying on them. Paul: She has seen the challenges in her work for code for America. >> You might have to fill out a form that could take you over one hour to complete, with questions that are potentially incomprehensible that can make you really nervous that you are answering incorrectly. Paul: The results are stark. Literally billions in unclaimed benefits. >> There's $80 billion of money left on the table every single year because of how hard it is to navigate
these hurdles. Paul: Morgan's job has kept her from the in person appointment required to maintain her wic benefits, supplemental nutrition for women, infants and children. >> I am not going to be able to make it because a lot of employments are during my work hours. Paul: Yet she needs all the help she can get just to feed her kids. >> I don't make enough to take care of all of my children and pay my bills. That is stressful. I'm going to get upset. Paul: Lori and mills recently got a letter s
aying her medicaid benefit was stopped because she cannot -- because she did not recertify correctly. >> I am holding off going to the doctor before I get this straightened out. That is my crisis. Paul: Those finances were already precarious. >> If it is not worrying about the quality of the food that you get just to make it to the end of the month, and the fact that even the cheap -- is so expensive now. There's that. And I came up short on my rent. What if they put a note on my door? The stres
s of hearing that knock. The stress of, how my going to catch up. Paul: The safety net's entanglements take a toll. >> This is where it really hits people actually hard, I think. Just the amount of stress, anxiety, and frustration people experience. Paul: She had her own struggles with getting benefits, but nothing like one of her friends. >> She was in a shelter and got kicked out. She has a child to provide for, so she had to do what she had to do. Paul: What did she do? >> She went into prost
ituting. Because she could not get any assistance, and she did what she thought was right to provide for her and her son. Paul: So, why is it so hard for people? >> It is about layers and layers of accumulative policy and regulations. We're very good at adding things and very bad at taking away regulations and requirements. Paul: And government agencies are stretched thin. >> Governments are seeing record numbers of cases continuing from the pandemic, with also record staff vacancies. Paul: But
there are folks trying to make it easier. This app from Jimmy's company propel based in Brooklyn, keeps track of your monthly foodstamp use. >> This is your transaction history as well as your deposit date. Paul: Rather than call a one 800 number to access the balance for your benefit card, called an ebt card, use cruise --users can see their balance on the app for free. >> Similar to how a balance -- we did that same thing for the ebt card. We currently serve more than 5 million households each
month. Paul: Of the 20 million American households with ebt cards, after sints in Facebook and linkedin, Chen launched propel in 2014. >> We have companies like Uber and airbnb, companies follow -- solving the problems. Paul: Relatively well-off people. >> Solving their own problems. What made me uncomfortable is in this day and age, low income families also have access to smartphones and use the internet on a regular basis and there are fewer software companies applying these technology practi
ces to solve their problems. Paul: Propel is a profit making company, but Chen insists. >> The way we can build the scalable sustainable impact we are trying to build, not just a one-time summer project that helps people a little and goes away, is building a scalable business model behind it. Paul: That model includes job listings, a no fee debit card, ads offering consumer discount. >> If you are purchasing groceries through Walmart, they have given us a coupon code for users to get money off.
>> This is one of the forms we are working to improve. Paul: That nonprofit code for America, she's also trying to ease the process by simplifying government forms. >> I believe this one is 16 pages. Paul: Verification, you will need copies of all of the following -- oh my goodness. That is just the first page. >> So already you are this mindset of fear and stress before you have even started. Paul: How to make it user friendly? >> This is the form we used to redesign Minnesota. Paul: Now it is
mobile friendly. >> We use things like the font size to draw your attention to certain areas, just the information you need to know. To know what sections you can skip, you can see where you are supposed to check a box. Paul: For an application that used to take an average of 110 minutes to fill out. >> We ultimately get to a form that takes 12 minutes on average, is available in multiple language, is at a third-grade reading level for the same benefit program. Paul: It is all an effort to reduc
e the board --the burden. >> We are here because we are down already. Don't make it any more painful than it already is. Paul: After all, the safety net eligible just want to get what is supposed to be theirs. For the "Pbs newshour," Paul Solman.
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