Mississippians who rely on SNAP benefits for food assistance will soon receive full payments, including those who have already received partial payments this month, the Mississippi Department of Human Services announced late on Thursday afternoon.
“MDHS will begin issuance as soon as possible to clients with issuance dates of November 4th through 13th,” the announcement says, noting that those beneficiaries already began receiving 65% of the payment on Monday. “… Clients with issuance dates between November 14th and 21st will receive full benefits on their regularly scheduled issuance dates.”
The agency did not give an exact date for when those who have received partial payments will receive the remaining 35% of their SNAP benefits, but noted that it expects December benefits to be issued on time.
The move comes after Congress passed a bill ending the government shutdown and President Donald Trump signed it into law, but without an extension of the health-care tax credits Democrats pushed for that were at the center of the shutdown. Millions of Americans, and around 330,000 Mississippians who get insurance through the Affordable Care Act, could see significant spikes in health-care costs as a result.
As full SNAP benefits resume, MDHS is warning of an increasing potential for fraud and theft of SNAP benefits. MDHS can no longer replace stolen SNAP benefits after Congress last year allowed a program to expire that replaced SNAP benefits stolen by card skimming, card cloning and other forms of fraud.
In its press release, MDHS advises recipients to do the following:
- Register for a Connect EBT account and save ConnectEBT to their cell phone home screen and change their PIN after every use to reduce their risk of fraud and skimming. (See TUTORIAL)
- Monitor all account transactions and report any suspicious activity to MDHS at this link.
- Ensure all case information is current to avoid interruptions in benefits.
- Follow MDHS social media channels for the latest updates on additional benefit funding and program announcements.
More information is available at www.mdhs.ms.gov.