News Release
COVID-19 Update: Additional $600 Unemployment Benefit Will Be Counted for FoodShare but Not Health Care Benefits.
Background
Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation is an emergency program created to increase unemployment benefits for people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. These additional unemployment benefits will give people who collect unemployment an extra $600 in federal benefits each week through July 25, 2020.
Impact on FoodShare and Caretaker Supplement Members
The additional $600 unemployment benefits will be counted as income when determining eligibility for the FoodShare and Caretaker Supplement programs.
Some people will get payments that date back to their eligibility date. (This is a retroactive payment.) Any retroactive payments FoodShare or Caretaker Supplement members receive will not be counted for eligibility.
Impact on Medicaid and BadgerCare Plus Members
The additional $600 unemployment payments will not be counted as income when determining eligibility for health care programs.
Note: The federal stimulus checks from the IRS (also known as economic impact payments) are not counted as income for Medicaid (including long-term care programs), BadgerCare Plus, FoodShare, or Caretaker Supplement. For Medicaid, these payments are disregarded as an asset for 12 months after the member receives the check.
COVID-19 Information
For the latest information about COVID-19 in Wisconsin, we encourage you to frequently monitor the Wisconsin Department of Health Services website for updates.
Last Update: May 06, 2020 12:18 pm CDT
