Leveraging Text-Based Outreach to Improve Enrollment in Federal Benefit Programs and Address Broadband Internet Access

The intersection of healthcare access and social services utilization is a critical frontier for combating health disparities within the United States healthcare system. Federal benefit programs, including the Lifeline program, aimed at addressing broadband phone and internet access, constitute fundamental components of the social safety-net, collectively serving millions of Americans. The Lifeline program, created in 1985 by the federal government, provides a subsidy of $9.25 per month to qualifying individuals to support their internet access, filling a gap in digital connectivity. Economic assistance programs, including Lifeline, often operate via fragmented and convoluted infrastructures. Opaque application processes, coupled with administrative barriers, such as understaffing and excessive clerical burden, create significant obstacles to access. These challenges are exacerbated within vulnerable populations facing limitations in digital literacy, language proficiency, and program awareness. The result of these constraints is under-enrollment among eligible individuals and families.