Federal Poverty Level Flashcards, test questions and answers

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What is Federal Poverty Level?

The Federal Poverty Level (FPL) is an important indicator of economic well-being in the United States. It is a measure of financial resources that indicates whether an individual or family can meet basic needs. The FPL is used to determine eligibility for government programs such as Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and many others. It also helps to inform decisions about public policies that impact the lives of low-income individuals and families.The FPL defines poverty by setting income thresholds below which households are considered to have inadequate resources for their size and composition. These thresholds vary based on factors such as household size, geographic location, age, and disability status. The FPL was developed by the U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In 2019, the federal poverty level was $12,490 for a single person household with no children under 18 years old living at home. For two-person households with no children under 18 years old living at home it was $16,910; three-person households were set at $21,330; four-person households were set at $25,750; five-person households were set at $30,170; six-person households were set at $34,590; seven-person households were set at $39,010; eight-person households were set at $43,430. The FPL is not adjusted for cost of living differences between geographic areas or changes in inflation over time. Therefore it does not provide an accurate measure of poverty in high cost areas such as California or New York City where people may be struggling even if their incomes are above the federal poverty line threshold levels given here. Therefore there has been considerable debate about alternative ways to measure poverty more accurately including using supplemental poverty measures which factor in regional variations in expenses like housing costs and take into account government assistance other than cash welfare benefits when determining eligibility thresholds. Overall ,the Federal Poverty Level serves an important role in identifying those individuals and families who need additional help from state or federal programs in order to meet their basic needs so they don’t fall further into poverty. It also sets guidelines on eligibility for certain public assistance programs , helping governments ensure that assistance goes only to those most likely to benefit from it .