TENNESSEE ASKING SOME FAMILIES TO PAYBACK COVID SNAP BENEFITS AFTER MISTAKE
According to the Tennessee Justice Center, an error the state made at the height of the pandemic is now costing some families thousands of dollars.
An advocate with TJC, Anna Luttrell, told News Channel 5 that some people have started to receive notices saying they were overpaid during the pandemic and have to pay the money back.
At the time, Congress allowed families to receive the maximum benefit, so the debt is incredibly high. “This is so extreme because we had this policy change that was meant to help families and now it’s causing these really bad unintended consequences where we’ve worked with families that are 8-thousand or 9-thousand dollars in debt right now,” Luttrell said.
SNAP overpayment claims are established by the Department’s Program Integrity Division. When a SNAP overpayment claim is established, the SNAP household will receive a letter informing them about the overpayment claim and how to repay the claim.
If a SNAP household fails to pay its SNAP claim, the claim will become delinquent. A delinquent SNAP claim may be subject to additional fees, garnishment of wages, and offset of Federal payments including tax refunds.
Luttrell also stated that Tennessee has the option to apply for a waiver from the USDA, to forgive pandemic overpayments, and help out families who are facing financial hardship. However, Tennessee has not yet applied for the waiver.
