←back to thread

64 points mrtesthah | 5 comments | | HN request time: 0s | source
Show context
chasd00 ◴[] No.45813489[source]
Read the article and then you'll put away your pitchforks. A basic rule is snap recipients can't be treated differently than non-program members which seems reasonable.

"At issue is SNAP’s “Equal Treatment Rule,” which bars stores from either discriminating against people in the program or offering them favorable treatment. "

replies(7): >>45813511 #>>45813542 #>>45813597 #>>45813721 #>>45813753 #>>45814104 #>>45815963 #
pseudalopex ◴[] No.45813542[source]
Forbidding charging SNAP recipients more is reasonable. Why is it reasonable to forbid charging SNAP recipients less?
replies(7): >>45813637 #>>45813727 #>>45813842 #>>45813930 #>>45813946 #>>45814869 #>>45815301 #
1. tpmoney ◴[] No.45813946[source]
It a consumer protection and fair competition thing (and probably anti-fraud too). There are similar rules in place for medicare/medicaid too. Gifts of any kind to induce a patient to choose your facility over any other are forbidden. That's why if you look really closely at ads at pharmacies encouraging Medicare/Medicaid people to switch, even though they talk about all these free things, they're all things that are free if you're on Medicare/Medicaid regardless of what facility you choose. I worked for a place one time that was sued by the feds for giving a $10 grocery store gift card to Medicare/Medicaid recipients if they were the source of a referral. The referral didn't even have to use the company's services, just answer they heard about them from X patient if and when they called for more information. But that was enough to be considered a violation of the laws.

I think the broad theory goes that people receiving these benefits are in pretty tight financial straights and some benefit or discount that might be "nice" to someone else is "essential" to them and may cause them to use your services even when that isn't the best use of their benefits for the purposes of those benefits.

replies(2): >>45814593 #>>45815810 #
2. pseudalopex ◴[] No.45814593[source]
Switching grocers does not require registration. Many people shop multiple grocers even.
replies(1): >>45817201 #
3. FireBeyond ◴[] No.45815810[source]
> There are similar rules in place for medicare/medicaid too.

And yet the Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement rates for services often differs from that of insured, and cash patients...

replies(1): >>45816302 #
4. tpmoney ◴[] No.45816302[source]
That has nothing to do with what the provider does or doesn’t charge. The government gets to pick what their reimbursement rate is.
5. tpmoney ◴[] No.45817201[source]
Neither does switching pharmacies. You can today go to 3 different pharmacies and fill 3 different prescriptions as long as you actually have those prescriptions sent to those pharmacies.