The Future of the Affordable Connectivity Program

A look at potential changes to the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) eligibility criteria based on participation in social benefits programs such as Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP), Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Public Assistance Income (PAP). These potential changes would have broad impacts since the National Verifier (NV) uses program participation rather than income to confirm eligibility for over 90 percent of ACP applications. This is unsurprising since program-based eligibility can be automatically verified through NV connections to federal and state program databases, thus reducing the administrative burden on potential recipients. If ACP eligibility were solely based on participation in social benefits programs, our estimate is that the number of eligible households nationwide would drop by about 13 percent. As for the impact on covered populations as defined in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), if ACP eligibility were solely based on participation in social benefits programs (but not income), veterans and older adults would be affected the most, with about 1 in 3 currently eligible households where a member is a veteran or elderly no longer eligible for ACP. For other populations the relative impact would be somewhat smaller, with a decrease of about 20 percent in the number of eligible households.