Estimates of Annual Impact of Potential Disenrollment from Select Non‐Cash Benefits by Immigrants in Philadelphia, PA  

Benefit
Supplemental Nutrition 
Assistance Program 
Special Supplemental 
Nutrition Program for 
Women, Infant and 
National School Lunch 
Program

Estimate number 
Estimate 
Estimate 
Estimate number  of households 
Number of 
Average value of  economic impact  economic impact 
with at  least 1 
people  receiving  of households 
Examples of impact on Philadelphia  Examples of impact on Philadelphia 
if 6% of 
if 25% 
benefit per 
receiving benefit 
immigrant 
benefit in 
economy
public and private safety net
person  annually disenroll/forgo  disenroll/forgo 
Philadelphia
in Philadelphia1 receiving benefit 
3
4
benefit
from benefit
in Philadelphia2
‐ Decrease retail and commercial 
‐ Increase use of and need for 
484,873
187,210
34,447
$1,553
$3,209,153
$13,371,472
grocery and food sales
emergency food programs
‐ Increase child welfare complaints, 
54,943
21,214
3,903
$732
$171,432
$714,301
investigations, and placements
‐ Increase burden on foster care 
system
128,102
49,460
9,101
$599
$327,139
$1,363,077

5

413,705

159,732

29,391

$2,973

$5,242,576

$21,844,068

ACA Marketplace 
Insurance Subsidies

55,848

21,563

3,968

$5,664

$1,348,342

$5,618,093

Children's Health 
Insurance Program (CHIP)

24,873

9,603

1,767

$2,972

$315,098

$1,312,910

Medicaid

Low‐Income Home Energy 
N/A: Household 
Assistance Program 
level benefit
6
(LIHEAP)

169,082

31,111

$166

$310,522

$1,293,842

Earned Income Tax Credit 
(EITC)7

N/A: Household 
level benefit

193,350

35,576

$2,536

$5,413,988

$22,558,284

40,971

15,819

2,911

$3,735

$652,320

$2,718,001

$16,990,572

$70,794,050

Federal Pell Grant

Estimate Total 
Annual Impact

‐ Increase uncompensated/charity 
healthcare
‐ Decrease reimbursement for 
healthcare providers
‐ Increase healthcare debt
‐ Increase healthcare costs due to 
forgone care

‐ Increase use of and need for 
emergency health care services due 
to forgone primary care
‐ Increase use of and burden on 
safety net health care providers (e.g. 
FQHCs, city‐funded health centers)
‐ Increase resources for responding to 
public health emergencies (e.g. 
disease outbreaks)

‐ Increase energy shutoff costs
‐ Increase use of and need for 
‐ Decrease energy utilization/revenue emergency health care services for 
‐ Increase emergency shelter costs
weather‐related illness
‐ Increase child welfare complaints, 
investigations, and placements
‐ Slow economic growth and spending ‐ Increase use of and need for 
supportive service
‐ Increase unemployment claims
‐ Decrease higher education 
enrollment/participation
‐ Decrease in workforce 
development/readiness
‐ Increase educational debt

1

 Number of households estimated from number of people  using U.S. Census estimate of average 2.59 people per household in Philadelphia, PA 

2

 Number of households with at least 1 immigrant estimated from number of households receiving benefit  using U.S. Census Bureau estimate of 18.4% of households having at least 1 immigrant in Philadelphia, PA

3

 6% drop off estimate given 2% of immigrants apply annually and immigrants who will apply w/i next 3 years  withdraw/forgo; assumes conservatively that only one immigrant per household receives benefit

4

 25% drop off estimate given actual drop off  is likely to be much higher; assumes conservatively that only one immigrant per household receives benefit 
 Medicaid enrollment and benefit value conservatively excludes aged/disability  eligibility categories

5
6

 Number of households actually  receiving LIHEAP 9/24/2016 through 9/14/2017 in Philadelphia, PA reported by Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare 

7

 Number of households actually  receiving EITC in tax year 2015 in Philadelphia, PA reported by U.S. Internal Revenue Service

Produced by: City of Philadelphia ‐ 4/25/2018

 Data Sources and Key References for Estimates of Annual Impact of Potential Disenrollment of Select Non‐
Cash Benefits by Immigrants in Philadelphia, PA 
Data Sources 
A. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP):  
Enrollment ‐ Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Medical Assistance, Food Stamps and Cash 
Assistance Monthly Utilization Reports 
Benefit Value – Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Medical Assistance, Food Stamps and Cash 
Assistance Monthly Spending by County (Averaged to number of enrollee) 
B. Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infant and Children (WIC): 
Enrollment ‐ Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Setting the Table: Blueprint for a Hunger‐Free 
PA [http://dhs.pa.gov/ending‐hunger/about/blueprint/index.html]  
Benefit Value – Center on Budget and Policy Priorities WIC Works: Address the Nutrition and Health 
Needs of Low‐Income Families for 40 Years [https://www.cbpp.org/research/food‐assistance/wic‐
works‐addressing‐the‐nutrition‐and‐health‐needs‐of‐low‐income‐families#_ftn54] 
C. National School Lunch Program 
Enrollment – School District of Philadelphia School Enrollment & Demographics 
[https://www.philasd.org/performance/programsservices/open‐data/school‐
information/#school_enrollment] 
Benefit Value – Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service National School Lunch, Special 
Milk, and School Breakfast Programs, National Average Payments/Maximum Reimbursement Rates 
[https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR‐2017‐07‐28/pdf/2017‐15956.pdf]  
D. Medicaid 
Enrollment ‐ Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Medical Assistance, Food Stamps and Cash 
Assistance Monthly Utilization Reports reduced by removing estimated number of Aged and Adults with 
Disabilities based on Kaiser Family Foundation Medicaid Enrollment by Enrollment Group 
[https://www.kff.org/medicaid/state‐indicator/distribution‐of‐medicaid‐enrollees‐by‐enrollment‐
group/?currentTimeframe=0&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Location%22,%22sort%22:%22asc%22%
7D] 
Benefit Value – Kaiser Family Foundation Medicaid Spending Per Enrollee (Weighted average for Adults 
and Children) [https://www.kff.org/medicaid/state‐indicator/medicaid‐spending‐per‐
enrollee/?currentTimeframe=0&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Location%22,%22sort%22:%22asc%2
2%7D]   
E. ACA Marketplace Insurance Subsidies 

 Enrollment – Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 2017 OEP County‐Level Public Use File 
[https://www.cms.gov/Research‐Statistics‐Data‐and‐Systems/Statistics‐Trends‐and‐
Reports/Marketplace‐Products/Plan_Selection_ZIP.html] 
Benefit Value ‐ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 2017 OEP County‐Level Public Use File 
[https://www.cms.gov/Research‐Statistics‐Data‐and‐Systems/Statistics‐Trends‐and‐
Reports/Marketplace‐Products/Plan_Selection_ZIP.html]  
F. Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) 
Enrollment – Pennsylvania’s Children’s Health Insurance Program Enrollment Figures by County 
[http://www.chipcoverspakids.com/AboutCHIP/Pages/EnrollmentFigures.aspx] 
Benefit Value – Kaiser Family Foundation Total CHIP Spending by State (Divided by enrollment data from 
above) [https://www.kff.org/medicaid/state‐indicator/total‐chip‐
spending/?currentTimeframe=0&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Location%22,%22sort%22:%22asc%
22%7D] 
G. Low‐Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) 
Enrollment – Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare Energy Assistance Summary 9‐15‐2017 
Benefit Value ‐ Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare Energy Assistance Summary 9‐15‐2017  
H. Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) 
Enrollment – IRS Report by County 2015 [https://www.irs.gov/statistics/soi‐tax‐stats‐county‐data‐2015] 
Benefit Value – IRS Report by County 2015 [https://www.irs.gov/statistics/soi‐tax‐stats‐county‐data‐
2015] 
I. Federal Pell Grant 
Enrollment – US Department of Education Federal Pell Grant Program Distribution 
[https://www2.ed.gov/finaid/prof/resources/data/pell‐institution.html] 
Benefit Value ‐ US Department of Education Federal Pell Grant Program Distribution 
[https://www2.ed.gov/finaid/prof/resources/data/pell‐institution.html] 
Key References 
1. Household Conversion Factor 
Average number of persons per household, Philadelphia County, PA, US Census QuickFacts 
2012‐2016  
2. Immigrant Households Conversion Factor 
Average number of households with at least 1 immigrant, Migration Policy Institute tabulation 
using the U.S. Census' 2016 American Community Survey 
Produced by: City of Philadelphia – 4/25/2018