The Biden administration has been approving state requests to use Medicaid funds to pay for individuals’ food, air conditioning and rent as part of a push to address health problems related to housing and lifestyle, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Research suggests that access to healthy foods and stable housing can improve patients’ health and reduce healthcare visits and costs,
according to the WSJ, and some Republican lawmakers appreciate that these programs give states more control over Medicaid funding. Critics point to existing programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (
SNAP), which already helps low-income people access food.
“This is really the first I’ve seen the federal government push food and air conditioners and other things as allowable. We already have the SNAP program,” Gary D. Alexander, head of the Medicaid and Health Safety Net Initiative for Paragon Health Institute, told the WSJ. “It seems like it’s blurring the lines.”