ABSTRACT

Federal and state governments provide a plethora of benefits programs intended to help older Americans, but take-up rates for the programs is low. BenefitsCheckUp® is an online tool intended to increase enrollment in these programs. To evaluate the impact of this national online screening tool providing individualized benefit information, we conducted a web survey of individuals who screened potentially eligible for programs including Supplemental Security Income, Medicaid, Medicare Savings Programs, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and energy assistance. Thirty-six percent of those surveyed applied for at least one benefit at an annualized, estimated average value of $2,865, and 20.5% enrolled, representing about 7% of the approximately 2 million site visitors age 60+. These results indicate that an online screening tool is a promising strategy for increasing benefit take-up rates among older adults with the value of benefits received far exceeding investments.

摘要

联邦和州政府提供了大量旨在帮助美国老年人的福利计划，但这些计划的参与率很低。BenefitsCheckUp® 是一个在线工具，旨在增加这些项目的注册人数。为了评估这个提供个性化福利信息的全国性在线筛选工具的影响，我们对筛选了可能符合计划资格的个人进行了网络调查，这些计划包括补充保障收入、医疗补助、医疗保险储蓄计划、补充营养援助计划和能源援助。接受调查的人中有 36% 申请了至少一项年化估计平均价值为 2,865 美元的福利，并且有 20.5% 的人报名参加，占 60 岁以上的约 200 万网站访问者的约 7%。