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Updates for local agencies, community-based organizations, and providers who provide assistance to members of Wisconsin's health and nutrition public assistance programs.
Additional Unemployment Wages for Members Affected by COVID-19
In August, the federal government announced that the Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) Program will give additional unemployment wages to people affected by COVID-19. Wisconsin recently received funding from LWA to give an additional $300 weekly unemployment benefit to eligible individuals unemployed due to COVID-19.
If a member receives LWA unemployment payments, these payments will not be counted as income or assets for the determination of eligibility for health care benefits, FoodShare, or Caretaker Supplement.
Earlier in 2020, several types of relief payments were created to assist people affected by the COVID-19 health emergency. These relief payments, and how they are counted for members receiving benefits from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, are listed below:
- Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC)
- FPUC payments are counted as income for FoodShare and Caretaker Supplement.
- Retroactive payments are not counted as income for these programs.
- FPUC payments are not counted as income for health care programs.
- Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA)
- PEUC and PUA payments are counted as income for all programs.
- Retroactive PEUC and PUA payments will not be counted for FoodShare.
- Retroactive PEUC and PUA payments will be counted as an asset for Elderly, Blind, or Disabled Medicaid programs.
- Economic impact payments (also referred to as stimulus payments)
- These payments are not counted as income for any program.
- These payments are also not counted as an asset for 12 months for programs that test assets.
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