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RCED-00-144R 1 (2000-05-08)

handle is hein.gao/gaobaalou0001 and id is 1 raw text is: I ~G A 0 Accotubllfty * W * lmb ~l!fty United States General Accounting Office Resources, Community, and Washington, DC 20548 Economic Development Division B-285079 May 8, 2000 The Honorable Russell Feingold United States Senate Subject: Food Stamp Program: Information on the Costs of Special Diets Dear Senator Feingold: Low-income households are considered to be at a higher risk for, and have a higher prevalence of, nutrition-related health problems. A primary purpose of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) $18 billion Food Stamp Program, the nation's largest food assistance program, is to help low-income households obtain more nutritious diets. Food stamp benefits are based on the net income of a household and the number of household members. To obtain a higher level of benefits, recipients can deduct certain expenses, including some medical expenses, to lower their household's net income. However, the costs of special diets, such as those for hypertension or diabetes, are excluded from the allowable medical expense deduction by federal statute. Concerned that some food stamp recipients may not be able to afford medically prescribed dietary regimes, you asked us to obtain information about (1) the number of food stamp recipients whose special dietary costs exceed the maximum food stamp benefit and (2) the costs of recipients' special diets compared with the maximum food stamp benefit. In summary, the federal government does not have the information to determine the number of food stamp recipients whose special diets exceed the maximum food stamp benefit. While two federal government surveys provide some information about the number of food stamp recipients with special diets, no information is collected about the costs of these diets or the degree to which the special dietary needs of food stamp recipients are unmet due to their limited financial resources. The costs of recipients' special diets can vary, according to USDA officials. They explained that the costs of some of these diets can fall within the maximum food stamp benefit, or they can exceed it. But they do not know how frequently special dietary costs exceed the maximum or to what extent the maximum is exceeded. They were, however, able to identify situations in which the maximum benefits could fail to meet special dietary needs. For example, they cited diets that require cans of oral nutritional supplements, which can each cost about half of the maximum daily benefit of $3.51. Moreover, our comparison of the weekly costs of one special diet GAO/RCED-00-144R Costs of Special Diets

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