SPRINGDALE — The ongoing government shutdown is already hampering the nation’s health systems, and those impacts are only going to worsen as it continues, participants in a roundtable discussion agreed Friday.
U.S. Rep. Steve Womack of Rogers met with 20 or more health care managers and professionals Friday morning to discuss the shutdown’s effects and other issues related to health care.
Delays of 10 days or more hamper payments to hospitals and other health care providers from the federal government programs such as Medicare because many of the workers who process those claims remain on furlough during the shutdown, Womack was told.
Another issue of concern raised relates to one of the most basic needs of all: food.
The federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, was set to run out of money Saturday. State attorney generals from 25 states plus the District of Columbia sued to force the government to tap $5 billion in contingency funds to keep the program going for at least a few weeks, Associated Press reported. Federal judges in Rhode Island and Massachusetts ruled in the states’ favor on Friday. The rulings are expected to be appealed, Associated Press reported.
The SNAP program costs approximately $8 billion per month nationally, which means the contingency fund would not fully fund the program.
“We’re going to see the health impact of that quickly” if SNAP benefits lapse, said Larry Shackelford, president of Washington Regional Medical System, after the meeting.
Almost a quarter of a million Arkansans are among the 42 million Americans benefiting from SNAP, according to government figures. The health consequences of going hungry, such as impaired immunity, were a topic during the discussion with the congressman.
“We’re going to see people having to make some very real decisions,” such as whether to pay for a trip to the doctor or food, said Judd Semingson, executive director of the Community Clinic of Northwest Arkansas. “They’re going to need help from family and neighbors.”
Both Semingson and Shackelford said they expect one consequence will be families waiting until health care is urgently, unavoidably needed before accessing it. This will drive up both consequences and costs, they agreed.
TRYING TO HELP
Meanwhile, some efforts are being made locally and statewide to address the expected rise in food insecurity.
For example, Benton County and Bo’s Blessings plan to host a community food drive from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. WednesdayNov. 5 outside the Benton County Rogers Office at 211 W. Walnut St., according to a news release from Benton County Communications Director Melody Kwok. All food donations will benefit local veterans and the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank, the release states. The community is asked to donate nonperishable food items such as canned meats, peanut butter, canned vegetables, canned beans and rice.
Food collection boxes will also be available in four locations from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. from Monday-Nov. 7, according to the release. The locations are:
• Benton County Rogers Office, 2111 W. Walnut St. in Rogers
• Benton County Administration, 215 E. Central Ave. in Bentonville
• Benton County Veteran Services Office, 1204 S.W. 14th St., Suite 8, in Bentonville
• Benton County Sheriff’s Office, 1300 S.W. 14th St. in Bentonville.
Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield announced in a news release Wednesday it was launching an effort “to combat food insecurity at a particularly vulnerable time.”
Nonperishable food and personal care items can be donated at any ArkansasBlue Welcome Center through Nov. 14, and they will then be distributed to local community food pantries and resource centers, the release states.
The local drop-off locations are:
• 3013 N. College Ave. in Fayetteville
• 3501 Old Greenwood Road, Suite 3, in Fort Smith
• 4602 W. Walnut St. in Rogers
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced Friday she was directing $500,000 to six food bank networks across the state starting Monday and would consider additional allocations on a weekly basis should the shutdown continue.
“My administration will work with our legislators, churches and food banks to help feed Arkansans,” Sanders said.
The six food bank networks, which will each receive an equal portion of the money, are:
• Northwest Arkansas Food Bank at Springdale
• Food Bank of North Central Arkansas at Norfork
• Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas at Jonesboro
• River Valley Regional Food Bank at Fort Smith
• Arkansas Foodbank at Little Rock, as well as the food bank’s Lexa and Warren branches
• Harvest Regional Food Bank at Texarkana
The governor also announced that the HelpArkansas.com page on her website will direct people to food assistance resources throughout the state and will be updated as the shutdown continues. People looking to volunteer or donate to help those in need can also find that information on the site, according to a news release from the governor’s office.
A COMMON THEME
SNAP was also a major topic of a similar roundtable Womack hosted Thursday with farmers, ranchers, agricultural business representatives and educators to discuss agricultural issues. Both Thursday’s and Friday’s meetings took place at the Northwest Arkansas Council in Springdale. Womack said both days the lapse in SNAP benefits will put pressure on Congress to end the shutdown.
Problems will start “cascading quickly” if the shutdown does not end soon, Womack said. For instance, children in school have a hard time learning while hungry, he said.
“It’s a classic ‘Pay me now, or pay me dearly later’ situation,” he said.
The representative made note during his opening remarks Friday that his staff, “who have been working pretty hard, have zero on their paychecks.”
The shutdown began Oct. 1, the day the current federal fiscal year began. Congress remains in an impasse over the federal budget for the fiscal year.
President Donald Trump called on Republicans in the Senate to end the rule requiring 60 of 100 votes to pass a spending bill, posting this in social media Friday morning. Womack opposes such a move, he told the group in his opening remarks.
“Someday our roles will be reversed,” he said, saying a Democratic president with Democratic majorities in Congress would be able to pass spending bills at will without regard to Republicans if the 60-vote threshold is removed. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has rejected such demands to do away with the 60-vote rule in the past, including similar demands from the president during Trump’s first term.
