public benefits

public benefits
Barriers, Errors & Due Process Denied: A Review of Colorado’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Administrative Hearing Process

Barriers, Errors & Due Process Denied: A Review of Colorado’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Administrative Hearing Process

From October 2020 to February 2022, Colorado Center on Law and Policy (CCLP) conducted research on SNAP disputes and the processes and outcomes of the administrative hearing process in Colorado. CCLP staff combed through over two thousand pages of 2019 hearing decisions, analyzed state and federal data, and heard directly from Coloradans who experienced challenges with their SNAP benefits and the administrative hearing process firsthand. CCLP found that many SNAP beneficiaries encounter problems but do not successfully access hearings, and when they do, lose their hearings at rates that are much higher than national averages. Beneficiaries reported difficulty navigating the appeal process, a finding that was unsurprising given the technical and dense information provided to beneficiaries in notices and on websites. Vanishingly few beneficiaries have legal representation, and some who had limited English proficiency appeared without the benefit of trained interpreters.
Case Study: Experiences battling debt drive reform of hospital financial assistance laws in Colorado

Case Study: Experiences battling debt drive reform of hospital financial assistance laws in Colorado

This brief, co-published with Community Catalyst, tells the story of HB-1198 from conception through passage and the beginning of implementation. It is a story that begins with the experiences of the people in our communities who search in vain for hospital services they can afford, the people who are drowning in hospital bills after a sudden illness or injury, and the people who are suffering long-term financial distress because they were denied access to coverage or financial assistance.